Ireland has agreed on a new system for migrant workers in the fishing industry, which has been welcomed by the country’s Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney.
A Government Task Force was set up to address the situation of non EEA workers in the Irish fishing fleet, following reports of migrant labour abuse in the Irish fishing industry.
Welcoming the Inter Departmental agreement, Minister Coveney said, “The Task Force has worked rapidly to examine potential solutions which will bring about a significantly improved situation for non EEA workers in the Irish fishing industry. It will see Ireland addressing what is essentially a global phenomenon.
“The new scheme will, I believe, greatly reduce the possibilities for the abuse of migrant works by unscrupulous employers. It will also provide a mechanism to assist those currently in Ireland, who are in difficult situations, to enter a new employment relationship. It will also help to improve the situation for Ireland’s operators in the fishing industry whose reputation may have been damaged by these allegations, due to the widespread coverage of the matter.”
The main provisions of the new scheme include a comprehensive legally binding contract of employment, guaranteed national minimum wage, the employee will be repatriated at the conclusion of the contract, and the employee will have health insurance in place for the duration of the contract.
Minister Coveney said that the full report of the task force is currently being finalised and that he plans to bring it to Government prior to publication in the coming weeks.
