Gama workers in Galway and Clare may take action over pay

Unions at Gama Construction are to consider renewed industrial action following a resurfacing of the row over payments to its…

Unions at Gama Construction are to consider renewed industrial action following a resurfacing of the row over payments to its Turkish workers.

A dispute between unions and the company ended in May after the Labour Court recommended settlement terms for 80 Turkish workers who were then on strike.

The 80, most of whom were based at Gama sites in Dublin, received €8,000 for each year of service with the company.

Last night Siptu, the biggest union at the company, accused it of reneging on a subsequent deal to apply the same terms to its Turkish employees at sites in Ennis, Co Clare, and Tynagh, Co Galway.

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Siptu national organiser Noel Dowling said hundreds of workers were adversely affected by the company's stance.

These employees would now "not receive the terms of an agreement which itself was a compromise in respect of monies owed for non-payment of overtime worked, often over a period of three and four years", he claimed.

Siptu and the other construction unions involved would now consult their members on the Ennis and Tynagh sites about the possibility of further industrial action.

Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin had also been advised of the development, he said.

There was nobody available from Gama Construction last night to comment on Siptu's claims.

Gama has been at the centre of controversy since Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins accused it in February of paying workers €2 to €3 an hour and making them work up to 80 hours a week. The company denied the claims. The State's labour inspectorate investigated the allegations, but its report was quashed by the High Court.

Chris Dooley

Chris Dooley

Chris Dooley is Foreign Editor of The Irish Times