Employers Breach Minimum Wage Rule

Half of the workplaces inspected by the National Employment Rights Agency (NERA), between January and October 2012, for compliance with the National Minimum Wage were found to be paying under the €8.65 hourly rate.

During this period, NERA conducted 1,064 inspections for compliance with the National Minimum Wage Act and in 530 it found that employers were not meeting their legal responsibilities.

The inspections resulted in the recovery of €264,835 in unpaid wages, along with 56 District Court convictions for non-compliance with the minimum wage requirement and other offences and 34 prosecutions for breaches of Labour Court orders.

Among the company's convicted was the Kildare based contract cleaner, Barty O’Brien Ltd. At a hearing in Kilcock District Court on 9th November the company pleaded guilty to one count of production of a false and misleading document and 13 counts of underpayment relating to cleaners who received an hourly rate of just €7 while working on HSE contracts, among them the cleaning of Naas hospital.

Head of SIPTU's Legal Rights Unit, Tom O’Driscoll, said: "The fact that NERA have found in inspections that there was only 50% compliance with the National Minimum Wage from January to October 2012 is a further manifestation of a shocking trend whereby employers are deliberately targeting labour standards and legislation. Many are using the crisis as an excuse for blatant exploitation."

In the year to September, NERA recovered €697,135 in arrears and unpaid wages for employees for breaches across the employments rights spectrum. In the period from January to October 2012, the Membership and Information Services Centre (MISC) of SIPTU has recovered €4.7 million for union members whose employers have breached legislation.

Among the recent MISC successes was the awarding by the Employment Appeals Tribunal of €48,000 to a Dublin based security guard for unfair dismissal.

(CD)