Turkish workers in Gama construction have accepted a Labour Court recommendation issued yesterday in settlement of their seven-week dispute, but the company is seeking clarifications.
The bitter dispute began when 300 of the workers claimed they were paid between €2 and €3 an hour for an 80-hour week. They went on unofficial strike seven weeks ago. Most of those involved in the protests returned home to Turkey, but 80 remained.
The Labour Court yesterday recommended a lump sum of €8,000 to be paid for every year of service to each worker. Most have worked an average of three years.
At a meeting yesterday in Liberty Hall, the workers voted in favour of the settlement terms. However, the company issued a statement in response to the recommendation, stating that it had not yet made a decision.
"Gama is seriously considering the recommendations of the Labour Court. The company is seeking clarification from the court on the recommendations and once it receives this will revert to the court and the unions," it stated.
Siptu national industrial secretary Noel Dowling said yesterday that the Gama workers accepted pragmatism over justice when they voted in favour of the settlement terms.
"The terms of the recommendation - a lump sum equal to €8,000 per year of service in respect of lost overtime - represent a pragmatic solution for the workers to bring an end to their fight for justice in the most extreme circumstances - far from their homeland and with the added difficulty of trying to communicate in a foreign language," he said.
They had fought for justice but were obliged to settle because the State, despite all the labour legislation, could not vindicate their right to the outstanding money.
For real justice, the Turkish workers would have to face the prospect of waiting for up to 18 months or more while their individual claims were processed through the Labour Court or the Circuit Court, he said.
"If any lessons are to be learned from this unprecedented dispute they are that the Government must introduce protection for migrant workers which will guarantee their rights while they are still in this country and free to tell their story," Mr Dowling said.
In the case of Gama, the State had failed the workers.The Government should immediately review the role played by professional advisers to companies such as Gama.
"The Government must accept that to have employment legislation without a means of enforcement is a deception on an even grander scale than witnessed in relation to the current dispute."