The GAMA struggle lifted the lid on the exploitation of migrant workers in the construction industry. In order to increase their profits, the construction bosses are paying migrant workers up to two thirds less than the union rate.
The employers’ agenda is to drive down the wages of all building workers. In some areas they have been allowed to get away with this "race to the bottom" because of the absence of a serious campaign by the construction unions to protect workers’ wages and conditions.
Eighty building workers picketed the 12 March meeting of Cork City Council in protest at Registered Employment Agreement (REA) breaches on a City Council project. The protest was organised by the Building and Allied Trades Union (BATU) after it was discovered that a sub-contractor on the Cork City Council project contracted to John F. Supple at SunValley Drive flats was in breach of REA conditions. News that the sub-contractor had been removed from the project was given to Cork City Council just 40 minutes after the protest started.
Large numbers of building workers are receiving less than the union or even the industry rate of pay and employers are not paying in their pension contributions. Significant numbers of these exploited workers are from Poland or other Eastern European countries, although it is quite possible that a majority of workers in this situation are actually Irish.
During the biggest building boom in the history of the city, employers are driving down wages and there are reports of underemployment amongst unionised building workers who are correctly refusing to work for employers offering slave wages.
A "blame game" which puts responsibility for this situation on migrant labour is not only wrong but also plays into the hands of the bosses by creating divisions amongst building workers and as a result all workers will lose out. Therefore it is in the interest of Irish workers that the unions constantly and consistently attempt to recruit migrant workers into the unions; this is the only way to halt the "race to the bottom". The responsibility for slave wages and working conditions on building sites lies solely with the construction companies and the sub-contractors.
The trade unions have no choice but to put serious resources behind a major recruitment campaign to unionise all workers in the building industry, Irish and migrant. This campaign will have to take militant action to shut down contractors and sub-contractors who refuse to pay union rates.
The Dublin Stonecutting branch of BATU recently recruited 400 Polish, Lithuanian, Russian and Portuguese workers to the union.
Such a development in Cork would benefit Irish workers as well as migrant workers as wages would be driven upwards for both and the employers' incentive to displace people would be removed.
