SIPTU has today called on the Government to regulate all agencies which recruit people from abroad to work in Ireland so as to prevent "trafficking in wage slaves".
Ms Rosheen Callender, SIPTU's National Equality Secretary, said in a statement today that according to media reports some employment agencies may be hiring people at pay-rates below the minimum wage to work in sub-standard conditions here.
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SIPTU cited a letter allegedly from an Irish-owned Malaysian recruitment company, which claimed that Asian people would work for two years without taking a holiday and could be paid less than Irish people because they were "gentle people" and "used to being subservient".
Ms Callender said it showed a "shocking and cynical willingness to exploit the religious and cultural characteristics of other nationalities" and urged the Government and the Irish people in general not to condone such practice.
She said it was the responsibility of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment to ensure the protection of all workers who come to this country and prevent them becoming "wage slaves".
Mr Gerry Donnelly, spokesman for the Department told ireland.comthat recruitment agencies operating within the country "are regulated".
Companies employing people from outside the EU, he added, require a work permit which is allocated by the Department. These companies are then targetted and inspected "as a priority" by a 17-strong Labour Inspectorate, he insisted.