Companies banned from JobBridge should be named, says Murphy

Companies previously banned from participating in the JobBridge scheme should be “named and shamed,” says Anti Austerity Alliance TD Paul Murphy.

Speaking on the Micheal Reade Show on LMFM, the Dublin South-West TD said the public should know the names of the 86 companies who had been banned from the JobBridge scheme.

Businesses serving bans from the scheme had their suspensions lifted last November, after the Department of Social Protection felt its own guidelines and procedures for investigating complaints were not robust enough to comply with fair procedures.

Murphy said it was unfair if people did not know the names of these companies.

In some cases there had been reports of bullying, allegations of physical abuse and demands to work long hours.

He said it was time for the JobBridge scheme to be abandoned. “It is worsening the problem of unemployment, not helping. It is normalising the idea of working for free.

“The scheme is now in serious trouble. The political winds are turning against JobBridge.

“It should be scrapped and replaced with a real jobs scheme, apprenticeships, back to education opportunities and the creation of real jobs.”