This article is from page 2 of the 2006-03-21 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 2 JPG
UNIONS have told the Polish subcontractor working on the €360 million retrofit at the power station in Moneypoint to consider hiring local workers.
General Secretary of the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU) Owen Wills said that ZRE Katowicz (Ireland) should consider employing locally to allay fears they were not playing fair.
Last week, the ESB uncovered alleged underpayments to 66 Polish workers working on the retrofit.
The TEEU said the welders and fitters who worked for the sub-contractor ZRE Katowice, received €5.20 per hour, just over a third of the agreed rate of €18.97 per hour.
While the company disputed the figures, it admitted during the week that limited underpayment had been discovered.
The pay irregularities were uncovered when the ESB carried out an internal audit of wages.
The ESB and TEEU have said they will now be keeping a close eye on the sub-contractor to ensure it carries out its commitments to back pay the employees, and continues to pay them the agreed wage.
A spokesperson for the ESB said the company would be re-auditing the payroll in Moneypoint again in the near future.
Meanwhile the union has said that with the continued expansion of the multi million euro retrofit, ZRE Katowice should be able to continue to employ Polish workers and local workers on the same wage.
According to the TEEU, there has been a tradition in West Clare to recruit suitably qualified local labour when refurbishment takes place at the power station.
The union also vowed to continue representing all Polish workers on the site fully.
A spokesperson for the ESB told The Clare People that the retrofit contract, like all contracts of its size, was required to be advertised in the EU journal and employees sought from across the EU.
Meanwhile, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Michéal Martin described last week’s revelation as “unacceptable”.
He said the underpayment of the Polish workers was a “straightforward breach of the law”.
The multi-million euro clean-up currently underway at Moneypoint is necessary to allow the station operate past 2008. The Environmental Protection Agency has set that deadline for the station to drastically cut its levels of pollution.