Four eastern European workers, described as having worked in "sub-human conditions" at a mushroom plant in Mayo, have brought actions for unfair and constructive dismissal against their former employer.
An Employment Appeals Tribunal in Castlebar courthouse yesterday was told how one worker received gross pay averaging €2.20 or €2.50 per hour and that employees worked between 65 and 90-plus hours per week.
Four female workers - Ms Laila Kramina and Ms Zenta Ozola, both from Latvia, Ms Iryna Lapshyna, from Ukraine, and Ms Iryna Melik-Davydova, from Russia - who all have addresses c/o the Migrants' Rights Centre Ireland in Dublin, have brought actions against operators Atlantic Mushrooms, Belmullet.
The women were employed by the company on dates between October 2001 and March/April 2004.
Mr Saul Woolfson, for the women, told the hearing Ms Kramina worked in the order of 70 hours per week, receiving a gross pay averaging €2.20/€2.50 per hour - "significantly" below the minimum wage rate.
The parties sometimes worked from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and breaks did not occur until early afternoon. They were denied any holiday entitlements.
The employer, Mr Woolfson said, had abused the work-permit system. Health and safety conditions were unacceptable and Ms Kramina suffered shortness of breath and blurred vision as a result of emissions.
Ms Kramina, he continued, lived in a house supplied by her employer with 17 people. Deductions were made from her paltry wages in respect of utilities.
Ms Marguerite Bolger, for the company, said that since 2000 the respondent company has employed 242 workers from eastern Europe.
Until relatively recently, there were no allegations of mistreatment from any employee. All allegations were denied.
During this time her client was subject to three investigations by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and inspectors were happy the company was behaving properly and was in compliance.
They all received documentation relating to the terms and conditions of their employment and the company went to considerable trouble to facilitate non-national workers. The house supplied was a large one and provided free of charge.
Deductions for utilities were reasonable and explained. Free transport was laid on for staff and her client assisted in other areas such as booking flights, providing canteen facilities, bringing staff to medical appointments or the aliens' office at the Garda station.
The company, Ms Bolger added, had a health and safety record that spoke for itself.