Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)

The Minister has not yet declared Cork an independent republic, so we are reassured.

I raise this matter to highlight the potential for exploitation within the work placement programme. I call on the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Mary Coughlan, to instigate a review of the programme to ensure this does not take place. I understand that many employers have signed up for this scheme, under which they can employ a full-time worker for free. It does not cost the employer a penny; the Department foots the bill by offering those who secure a place on the programme a weekly payment of approximately €200, which is considerably less than the minimum wage. The aim of the scheme is to allow graduates and other persons to learn a new skill and gain experience, which is important in the current climate. However, many of the job advertisements under the work placement programme specify that the candidate must be experienced and, in some cases, that he or she must be able to work unsupervised. This defeats the purpose of the programme.

There are currently over 800 work placement programme jobs listed in the FÁS jobs bank. Among these positions are sales representatives, receptionists, caretakers, laundry operatives and construction workers. There is a six- to nine-month training period for each of these jobs. The question arises of whether working in a laundry for six to nine months will offer any real progression and thus whether such jobs are of any real value for graduates. This is why I am seeking the review. It is evident to me that the work placement programme could be used as a means of exploiting well-qualified employees by providing work that offers no real opportunity for advancement.

For graduates who have no previous experience of their chosen field and who do not qualify for a social welfare payment, the work placement programme has its merits. For others, this programme offers absolutely no benefit but actually comes at a cost when travelling expenses are deducted from the already meagre payment of €200 per week. The only winner here is the employer, who gets a worker for up to nine months for nothing.

The Minister must revisit this scheme urgently, as FÁS is giving the green light to employ staff for work under the guise of a training scheme for which candidates are grossly overqualified. She should also consider requiring the employer to pay some salary or expenses so the person is at least earning a living wage while working a full week. We argue that they should at least be earning the minimum wage, if that is possible. A testimonial on the scheme was posted on boards.ie: "I think the work placement programme is a good idea but a person would only be earning the €196 (paid by the social welfare) for a full week's work. While I agree that any kind of work looks better on your CV this small amount of money has made the uptake of this programme very slow".

In essence we are seeking to prevent the exploitation of workers. If the scheme is designed so that people can progress and use whatever skills they have to advance in the workplace, even if they are only retaining their social welfare benefits, it should be a real advance and should not be used by employers to advertise jobs that involve no real upskilling. I hope the Tánaiste will at least review this scheme

See this speech in context