Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

Last week we saw P&O Ferries sacking 800 workers and replacing them with migrant labour at £1.82 per hour. The Tánaiste has said that could not happen here within the law but the urge of unscrupulous employers to maximise profit by exploiting vulnerable workers does not know any borders. There are mushroom farms not too far from the Minister's own bailiwick that prove the case. The minimum wage is set at such a low rate that employers can exploit vulnerable workers to drive down wages while still acting within the law. I call on the trade union movement to be especially vigilant on this question and to make a special effort to unionise our new Ukrainian workers and ensure they are not exploited. That is in the interest of both the Ukrainian workers themselves and the working class as whole, which has a vested interest in maintaining and improving pay and conditions for all. If the Minister wished to comment on that I would be interested in her thoughts.

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