GAMA responsible for breaches of employment legislation

by examiner Fri Apr 22, 2005 17:57

The Turkish construction firm Gama was today granted a temporary injunction to prevent the publication of a Labour Inspectorate report into the treatment of its workers.

The company has admitted that it failed to keep records of working times, did not issue pay slips and paid its workers eight per cent less than they were entitled to.

At the High Court in Dublin, Judge Peter Kelly granted the company a temporary injunction to prevent Enterprise, Trade and Employment Minister Micheál Martin from publishing of the report.

However he gave the minister permission to provide the report to five enforcement agencies – the Garda Fraud Squad, the Competition Authority, the Director of Corporate Enforcement, the Garda National Immigration Bureau and the Revenue Commissioner.

He said he would not place any fetter on any action that they might seek to take, civil or criminal on foot of the report.

Judge Kelly added that he would not place any restrictions on the Labour Inspectorate from continuing its investigations into the company.

He said the temporary injunction would apply until the trial of the action taken by Gama’s Turkish and Irish companies against Enterprise, Trade and Employment Minister Micheál Martin.

http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=140725568&p=y4x7z6z74

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Injunction granted over Gama report

22 April 2005 16:20

The High Court has granted an injunction preventing publication of a Department of Enterprise investigation into Gama Construction.

Lawyers for the company had claimed the report into allegations of the exploitation of Turkish workers was compiled unlawfully.

However, Mr Justice Peter Kelly has ruled that the report could be sent to any State agency with powers of prosecution.
Email Services from RTE

He said the report could be forwarded to five entities including the Garda Fraud Squad, the Competition Authority, the Director of Corporate Enforcement, the National Immigration Bureau and the Revenue Commissioners.

Justice Kelly said the work of the Labour Inspectorate would not be hindered by a further short injunction.

He said there were some disquieting and unsatisfactory aspects of Gama's behaviour in dealing with the inspectorate.

But he said the company had raised a valid issue in its objection to the wider publication of the report.

The matter will come back before the High Court for a judicial review on Tuesday week.

Gama employees have been on a work stoppage for three weeks, claiming the company has systematically underpaid them.

The allegations were investigated by the inspectorate on the instruction of the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0422/gama.html

by Leftie Thu Apr 21, 2005 15:00

I like the way she is now trying to shift the blame onto SIPTU. (RTE news). Sure why shouldn't she in this age of 'Partnership'.

Be interesting to see how the spinners of 'Partnership' react to this one.

by examiner Thu Apr 21, 2005 14:18

Pat Rabbitte today called for a full Dail debate on how Gama were invited to Ireland, saying that Harney had "sat on this scandal for three to four years".

Harney then told Rabbitte 'I've had to say no when deputies, including deputies from _your party_, lobbied me to give work permits to companies that were in breach of labour law'.

by Anti-GAMA - sp Thu Apr 21, 2005 13:27

Since 4 April, 350 Turkish workers at Gama Construction in Ireland have been on strike, fighting against extreme exploitation.

The action has affected three of Gama’s four main sites in Ireland, closing down two of them completely. The two sites in Dublin are closed and the site in Ennis, County Clare is badly affected. Despite the walkout of fifty workers, their construction of a power station in Tynagh, County Galway is continuing. The strike followed months of organising by the Socialist Party and a number of Gama workers. Together we campaigned and organised, sometimes openly - sometimes secretly (because of threats and intimidation by the company), and outlined the massive gap between what the company said it was paying its workers and the real situation of pay rates of between 2 to 3 € an hour. Gama workers were also forced to work more than eighty hours a week.

continues at www.socialistworld.net

by examiner Tue Apr 19, 2005 17:34

Form the Irish Examiner

The Turkish company accused of wage fraud and underpaying workers admitted to Government inspectors in February that it was not recording how many hours its employees work.

Earlier this year the managing director of Gama Construction Ireland, Hakan Karaalioglu, also conceded wage slips were not being given to Turkish workers in Ireland.

The lack of wage slips and records of hours worked is a crucial element of the Turkish Workers Action Group’s (TWAG) campaign against Gama since the company has been accused of paying for a 40-hour week while demanding that employees work 80 hours.

http://tinyurl.com/cw6jr - Irish Examiner

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Official probe used Gama’s own translator
Sunday Times (London)

A governmnet investigation, which dismissed claims that Gama Construction was underpaying foreign workers, used an accountant employed by the Turkish construction company to translate interviews with workers.

According to worker representatives, the investigation failed because company employees were not interviewed in private by the Department of Trade and Enterprise inspectorate. The investigation followed complaints by union officials that foreign workers were being paid less than the minimum wage required by law.

The company has been the subject of three investigations since it started to work in Ireland. The second, which reported in October 2003, stated that the company had “no problems with compliance” to work permit regulations.

A spokesman for the Turkish worker action group, said: “Union officials and the inspectorate did have their own translators available but company supervisors said that they were unacceptable and said they should use one of the English-speaking accountants instead.

http://tinyurl.com/dnjgp - Sunday Times (London)

by examiner Tue Apr 19, 2005 17:00

If they find that Joe "abused Dáil privilege to give misinformation about the company" - what will happen to him?

Can he be kicked out of his job?!? Or will he just face a suspension like he has done in the past?

I've no doubt these feckers would love to get him out of there...

But will the people stand for it?

by examiner Tue Apr 19, 2005 16:55

RTE Online
19 April 2005

The High Court has refused an application by Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins to be joined to judicial review proceedings on the labour inspectors' report on Gama Construction Ireland.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly said he had some sympathy for Mr Higgins's right to defend his reputation against allegations that he abused Dáil privilege to give misinformation about the company.

However, Mr Justice Kelly said judicial review proceedings could not offer Mr Higgins that mechanism.

The judge said the court's only function was to decide if the decision by Enterprise, Trade & Employment Minister Micheál Martin to order an investigation into Gama was legal, and if so was it carried out in accordance with natural and constitutional justice.

The investigation followed claims by Mr Higgins that employees were paid €2.20 an hour. The case continues.

by Jim bob Mon Apr 18, 2005 18:02

Who do they claim gave inducements?
or do they not say.

If they have some Pr/marketing company advising them, they're probably telling them to throw as much mud as they can without getting sued.

If they say inducements were offered, but don't state by whom then who are they libelling/slandering? and at the same time, they hope to discredit the workers complaints.