Revealed: trafficked migrant workers abused in Irish fishing industry
Summary
Date Reported: 15 Nov 2015
Location: Ireland
Other
Not Reported ( Fishing ) - Employer , Not Reported ( Recruitment agencies ) - RecruiterAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - Ghana , Fishing , Gender not reported )Issues
Wage Theft , Right to Food , Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure Time , Debt Bondage , Recruitment Fees , Restricted mobility , Human TraffickingResponse
Response sought: No
Action taken: Eventually the worker escaped by leaving the ship.
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 2 Nov 2015
Location: Ireland
Other
Not Reported ( Fishing ) - Employer , Not Reported ( Recruitment agencies ) - RecruiterAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - Philippines , Fishing , Gender not reported )Issues
Minimum Wage , Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure Time , Irregular WorkResponse
Response sought: No
Action taken: The Guardian reports on the incident but does not mention any action taken.
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 3 Nov 2015
Location: Ireland
Other
Not Reported ( Fishing ) - Recruiter , Not Reported ( Fishing ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - Philippines , Fishing , Gender not reported )Issues
Minimum Wage , Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure Time , Irregular WorkResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 2 Nov 2015
Location: Ireland
Companies
Tit Bonhomme - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: 6
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 4 - Egypt , Fishing , Gender not reported ) , Workers: ( 2 - Ireland , Fishing , Gender not reported )Issues
Deaths , Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure Time , Occupational Health & SafetyResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 2 Nov 2015
Location: Ireland
Other
Not Reported ( Fishing ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: 1
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - Egypt , Fishing , Gender not reported )Issues
Occupational Health & SafetyResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 2 Nov 2015
Location: Ireland
Other
Not Reported ( Fishing ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , Fishing , Gender not reported ) , Individual: ( 1 - Location unknown - Sector unknown , Gender not reported )Issues
Irregular Work , ViolenceResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 2 Nov 2015
Location: Ireland
Other
Not Reported ( Fishing ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - Philippines , Fishing , Gender not reported )Issues
Mental Health , Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure Time , Right to Food , Irregular Work , Intimidation , Violence , Poverty Wages , Restricted mobilityResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 2 Nov 2015
Location: Ireland
Companies
Diamon-H Marine Services - Recruiter , Labardie Fisher - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: 1
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - Philippines , Fishing , Gender not reported )Issues
Occupational Health & Safety , Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure Time , Mandatory overtime , Right to Food , Wage Theft , Racial, ethnicity, caste or origin discrimination , Human Trafficking , Precarious/Unsuitable Living Conditions , Irregular Work , Restricted mobilityResponse
Response sought: Yes, by The Guardian
External link to response: (Find out more)
Action taken: O’Mahony and co-director of the Labardie Fisher Lenny Hyde, vehemently deny the allegations of trafficking and exploitation. They said the workers' account was completely inaccurate and defamatory. It was untrue, they said, that they were involved in bringing undocumented crew into Ireland to work illegally. They added that they had told the agency the crew would be working from Crosshaven in Ireland. They denied the Filipino worked continuously without statutory rest periods and said the worker had been fully paid for the period he worked. They later added that a second Filipino crew member, who we understand arrived on the same flights as the worker, had confirmed that he had 14 hours sleep every night, and had eaten three meals a day, including a full “hotel dinner” in the middle of the day. (He has now returned to the Philippines, according to sources.) The owners also said the exploited worker was given the best of medical treatment and that they had been assured by police immigration that there was “no question of human trafficking for labour exploitation”. The agency’s Manila-based family member Rommel Turingan told The Guardian it was made clear that the $1,000 was for unlimited hours.
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 2 Nov 2015
Location: Ireland
Other
Not Reported ( Fishing ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: 2
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - Philippines , Fishing , Gender not reported ) , Workers: ( 1 - Ireland , Fishing , Gender not reported )Issues
Occupational Health & Safety , Irregular WorkResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: News outlet
African and Asian migrant workers are being routinely but illegally used as cheap labour on Irish fishing trawlers working out of some of the country’s most popular tourist ports, the Guardian can reveal. A year-long investigation into the Irish prawn and whitefish sector has uncovered undocumented Ghanaian, Filipino, Egyptian and Indian fishermen manning boats in ports from Cork to Galway. They have described a catalogue of abuses, including being confined to vessels unless given permission by their skippers to go on land, and being paid less than half the Irish minimum wage that would apply if they were legally employed. They have also spoken of extreme sleep deprivation, having to work for days or nights on end with only a few hours’ sleep, and with no proper rest days. Some migrant workers claim to have been deceived and appear to have been trafficked on to trawlers for labour exploitation, an abuse that would be a form of modern slavery. Our evidence suggests that some boat owners and crewing agencies are smuggling African and Filipino workers in to Ireland through entry points at London Heathrow and Belfast airports, and then arranging for them to cross from Northern Ireland in to the Republic by road, bypassing Irish immigration controls. [article contains statements from boat owners and agencies]