An “Ugly Outbreak” of Migrant Workers Rights

international | rights, freedoms and repression | news report

Friday February 03, 2006 19:46

by Fergus

European limits set on the migration of workers from EU ‘accession’ countries are up for review in May 2006. The two year limits were initially set by European countries in preparation of EU enlargement in May 2004.

Earlier this week the Irish govt were forced to react in public to the issue.

It was reported in Sept 2005 that the European Commission had sent a “notice of infringement” to the Irish govt over the extent to which social benefits, including child benefit, were being denied to EU citizens.

The infringements were a key part of Irish govt preparations for EU enlargement in May 2004.

Following the Commission’s warning, changes were made to allow the spouses of migrant workers who worked in Ireland to receive child benefit. However, the govt did not publicly announce the entitlements when they first became available in 2005.

With the imminent release of related legislation in a new Social Welfare Bill (due to be published by the end of Feb), opposition parties have ’gone public’ on the issue.
The consensus of silence has broken with “heated-exchanges” being conducted through the mainstream media.

“Now, there’s no problem with child benefit, I want to stress that, there’s no problem with child benefit…”
- David Stanton of Fine Gael answering questions on ‘The Last Word‘, Today FM, Tues 31 Jan.

Q. How many have applied at present of all the foreign workers in the country, how many have applied [for child benefit] ?

“Very few it appears because they don’t, the situation, it seems they don’t know about it and remember that this migration is relatively new and a lot of people didn’t know about it,
and there was a lot of confusion,
but after the media exposure over the last number of days, I would expect to see a lot more people now applying for what they’re entitled to and that’s child benefit,“

However, the issue wasn’t raised for the benefit of migrant workers.

“We weren’t raising the issue regarding the child benefit,
it was the new early child care supplement, the new one,
now that was brought in to help with childcare costs in this country… now it seems, is that it is identical to child benefit so that the people from other countries who are working here, who’s children are in their country of origin will also be entitled to this early childcare supplement.”

Brian Lenihan, Minister of State with responsibility for Children, was also questioned.

Q. Is this a liability the govt didn’t expect at the time of the budget [when the new early child care supplement was announced] ?

“…that was done in the knowledge that it is paid in respect of a number of children not resident in Ireland, so that factor was built into the govt analysis.

Q. So you knew this would happen, you knew that these people were eligible for the money and the money would leave the country and go back to the country of the origin of the worker ?

“Well, the govt were aware that that was a factor which applied to these types of benefit, that’s correct… there’s nothing unusual in this kind of reciprocal arrangement within Europe,”

On Wednesday an Oireachtas European Affairs Committee heard that failure to attract 575,000 migrant workers over the next decade could mean
“our growth rates will deteriorate substantially if we don’t have these people.”
The Equality Authority CE told the committee that updated equality legislation along with measures to protect workers rights was necessary
“to ensure positive experiences and situations for migrant workers.”
The director general of FAS also warned of the danger that Ireland would soon be unable to attract the migrants it needs if adequate measures are not put in place to help them.
“In the not too distant future, we could find ourselves actually competing for these workers.”

In May 2004, EU enlargement was greeted by most European countries with restrictions on the migration of foreign workers for two years.

The migration limits of other EU countries are up for review this May and if lifted, Ireland will be “actually competing for these workers”

In this light I think it becomes clear why the Irish govt is now becoming ‘generous’ with child benefit.

Another factor was raised on ‘The Last Word’, Wed 1 Feb.

Q. Isn’t it also the case though that it may be cheaper for the state anyway to pay the child benefit and this new additional €1000 payment for children under the age of six, rather than having to pay for all the various education and medical costs of children if they were to come into the country?

“Well that’s possibly true.
I mean but the thing is that, eh, eh, at the moment, they’re not, what you’re looking at, eh, well that was your question, eh…
- Moore McDowell, of the UCD economics school. (grapples with the truth).

The Director of the Polish Information Centre in Ireland, was also questioned.

Q. Do most Polish people coming into Ireland realise the entitlements available to them or do they simply get a job, draw the money from their employer and think that’s all they’re entitled to?

Yes, I think that’s the way it is, and after a while they maybe ask themselves what are their rights here and then they use our information centre to get info on their entitlements in Ireland and this problem might come up but its not the reason why they migrate to Ireland.
The reason is simply economical reason that they want to find work here and when they work they pay taxes so why shouldn’t they be entitled to the same entitlements as other nationalities?