A 'new beginning' for Irish beef, old story for migrant workers

Liffey Meats in Cavan has been paying migrant workers lower rates than normal in the industry even though they have just signed a five million euro deal with a French supermarket chain. By Colin Murphy

An Irish meat factory, praised recently for its "excellent product quality" by Minister for Agriculture Mary Coghlan, is paying foreign workers on work permits at rates more than 30 per cent lower than industry standards.

Workers at Liffey Meats in Ballyjamesduff in Cavan told Village they were being paid minumum wage of €7 per hour for work in the factory which is normally paid at rates around €10 per hour across the industry as a whole. On top of that, workers in other meat factories commonly avail of bonus and incentive schemes.

According to a payslip given to Village, this foreign employee of Liffey Meats (who asked not to be named) was paid €224 for a 32-hour week, having lost one day's work due to shortages in the factory, and a further small amount for overtime. After rent of €37.50 was deducted for shared accommodation, the individual received approximately €220.

John Murphy of Liffey Meats said: "Employees at Liffey Meats are paid by reference to their skill level and the nature of the work. Where the employee comes from is not relevant."

Denis Hynes of SIPTU said meat factory employees typically earn a €426 basic weekly salary, plus a weekly bonus of €90.

Foreign workers at Liffey Meats who spoke to Village said they received no such schemes; they also said there was regularly no work on one day a week, and that they were not paid sick leave.

"They told us, 'no beef today, don't come to the work'," said one South African worker. "When you're sick, you go to the doctor and they give you a certificate, but (the company) don't pay you," said a colleague.

Liffey Meats signed a €5 million deal with French supermarket chain Intermarché in the Irish Embassy in Paris on 17 March. Attending at the signing, Mary Coughlan said: "I am delighted to witness this agreement on behalf of the Irish Government, particularly on St Patrick's Day, as it marks a new beginning for Irish beef in France and will help foster increasing trade and business relationships between Ireland and France. The agreement is testament to the excellent product quality in terms of raw material and processing that Liffey Meats will supply to Intermarché's customers."

The deal with Intermarché was the outcome of a year of market studies conducted by Bord Bia at a cost of €150,000. The Liffey Meats beef products which will be on sale are packaged in individual, vacuum-packed consumer portions, each of which bears a small Irish tricolour.

Liffey Meats hires people from South Africa, Brazil, Botswana, Russia and Ukraine on work permits. Workers estimated there were over 100 foreign workers at the factory.

According to a number of workers who spoke to Village on condition of anonymity, the company also retains their passports for the duration of their work permit. However, the company has in the past hired foreign workers without work permits. Two Brazilian workers at the factory were charged in July 2004 with being in employment at Liffey Meats without holding a work permit.

The workers who spoke to Village were not unionised and said that most workers at the factory were not in unions. SIPTU confirmed that a small number of individual employees were "confidential members", without the knowledge of the company.

Liffey Meats was successfully prosecuted by the Environmental Protection Agency last year for pollution control breaches, and was fined and awarded costs against it totalling €12,689.

Company director Francis Mallon also pleaded guilty to a charge regarding the failure by the company to comply with licence limits for emissions into water. The court noted the conviction but gave the benefit of the Probation Act. The company was fined for a similar offence in 2000.

Francis Mallon declined to comment for this article.

Foreign workers from across the country are expected to turn out at the forthcoming May Day march, organised by the Dublin Council of Trade Unions. The march is themed "Rights and Entitlements for Migrant Workers: an End to Exploitation". The march starts at 2.30 pm at Parnell Square North.