Is the maltreatment of four Brazilian cleaners the tip of the iceberg of abuse of foreign workers in Ireland - or is it an exception, asks Nuala Haughey, Social and Racial Affairs Correspondent
Resende's family on the way to their High Court victory (see left), says the case was "by far the worst I've come across, but not entirely an isolated incident". From workers recruited for domestic chores who end up taking on a whole other range of duties to meat plant employees not allowed to use the toilet during their shifts, there seems to be almost as many varieties of abuse of foreign workers as there are immigrant nationalities.
That few cases end up in the courts or other legal forums is hardly surprising when you consider that the workers most vulnerable to abuse are often low-skilled with poor English and an even poorer grasp of their employment rights. Those who do speak out risk being branded troublemakers and threatened with deportation or the loss of their jobs. Illegal workers - of whom it is estimated there are some 10,000 in the State - are even more exposed. They cannot complain without leaving themselves open to arrest and deportation.
"A phenomenon which we have noticed with some regularity is that there is this fear and vulnerability, and sometimes people will take the first step in finding out information but then won't go any further," says Niall Crowley, chief executive of the Equality Authority, the guardian of Ireland's anti-discrimination laws.
The authority, which gives information and advice to workers, has seen a sharp increase in claims of workplace discrimination on race grounds in the past two years, as the numbers of work permits issued to non-European employees has gone from 18,000 in 2000 to 34,335 this year to date. Two years ago, complaints of discrimination on race grounds under the Employment Equality Act accounted for 8 per cent of the authority's case work. Now, more than 25 per cent of its 282 current case files is race-based.
"I would have expected a steady natural growth across the [nine discrimination] grounds in terms of consciousness of rights, but not the sort of jump we are experiencing so clearly, which shows we have a growing problem in Irish workplaces," says Crowley.
Many complaints brought to the authority are pay-related; foreign workers being paid less than their Irish counterparts, having illegal deductions made from their wages or being denied holiday pay. Crowley, in common with other groups helping migrant workers, singles out the meat, agricultural and live-in domestic sectors as particularly problematic.
Father Kevin Keenan, a Roscommon-based priest, can rattle off dozens of examples of exploitation of foreign workers in meat-processing plants throughout the State. He jokes that he and Father McNamara have divvied the country up between them in their self-appointed roles as troubleshooters for abused migrant workers. He handles the western half while his fellow cleric deals with the east. Both men speak Portuguese, having worked in Brazil, and have thus found themselves supporting Brazilian workers in particular, but not exclusively.
Father Keenan is currently investigating allegations of abuse of non-national workers in three meat plants in the midlands and west. These include claims that the management of one company confiscated the passports of 15 of its foreign staff; a report that some foreign meat de-boners are being paid less thatheir Irish counterparts; and allegations that workers have been provided with contracts obliging them to live exclusively in accommodation provided by their employers.
Just a fortnight ago, the houses of Brazilian staff in a meat plant were raided by the employers after allegations that meat had been stolen, says Father Keenan. The only meat found in the search had to be returned to the employee later after he produced a receipt from a local butcher.
"They went into the houses without any permission. That's breaking and entering. Just picture the Brazilians: you are in a foreign country. You don't know the culture. You don't know the language. You're in a meat plant where the guy is shouting at you all the time. You are trying to save money to support your family and you are in fear of losing your job and being dumped out on the street."
Father Keenan plans to present a dossier on these claims and others within weeks to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Harney, as well as the equality division of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.
"The purpose is: one, to show that there is a lot of discrimination; two, that it's not right, and three, to get the department to do something about it," he says. "It's all well and good Mary Harney and others saying we need these people to contribute to the economy, but once they are here, who checks up to see if they are being treated fairly?"
The Tánaiste's department has a Labour Inspectorate with just 17 inspectors to handle complaints of breaches of labour law throughout the State as well as doing spot-checks. It has also taken steps to curb abuses of the work permit system. However, in the absence of stringent sanctions and in a labour market of 1.7 million workers, employers determined to exploit their employees are neither easily deterred nor detected.
Father Bobby Gilmore, a Columban priest who runs the State's first dedicated immigrant advice centre in Dublin, says he is particularly worried by recent cases he has handled of exploitation of live-in domestic workers or nannies.
In one such case, a young Filipino woman, hired to work as a nanny in a professional's house, ended up also working in his office, often putting in 11-hour days. She documented weeks when she worked between 45 and 60 hours for about €180.
"This is one area which is more worrying because these workers are in isolated situations. Their employers don't seem to realise that the labour laws apply to everybody," he says.
Those supporting immigrant workers say such employees should be helped to help themselves. Crowley urges "investment in support infrastructure" by funding migrant workers' associations, trade unions and church groups, as these are often the first places oppressed workers turn to.
Father Keenan says one lesson from this week's Brazilian cleaners' case is that we should all be more vigilant. "Neighbours in particular should have more interaction with non-nationals, not by being nosey, but in a kind way taking an interest in people's welfare."