Workers protest on Waterford's North Quays
A protest was held on the North Quays site over an ongoing dispute between the developer BAM and workers.
Over 30 people gathered at the North Quays site early Tuesday morning, August 20, due to an ongoing dispute between the project developers BAM and workers.
Workers Eric and Eddie Crowley and Ben McElwee were joined by supporters from Waterford Council of Trade Unions, SIPTU and local councillor Jim Griffin (Sinn Féin).
The men were recently let go from the North Quays project after bringing to light alleged issues onsite regarding contracts, pay and health & safety procedures.
They have alleged that BAM contractors are engaged in "bogus self-employment".
The North Quays project is one of the largest investments made in Waterford's history.
Contractors BAM are developing the publicly-funded state project. They subcontracted work to DPPS Contracts, a construction company based in Donegal.
DPPS Contracts used their own company Enagh Ltd to register employees as 'self-employed', despite the nature of the work falling outside the remit.
The contracts prevented the workers from receiving PRSI, pension, sickness and death-in-service benefits.
Earlier this year, Waterford City and County Council (WCCC) requested an audit.
The audit conducted by Contractors Administration Service (CAS) revealed that employment practices onsite were not in line with the Construction Sector Employment Order (SEO).
According to BAM: “CAS’s audit indicated a small percentage of people working on the project were not in receipt of terms and conditions of employment in compliance with the SEO and that some individuals were registered as self-employed."
During the protest, a letter was passed on to the BAM offices from SIPTU, condemning the situation and the treatment of the workers.
According to SIPTU, the developer has yet to meet with union members and officials since March 2024.
The letter reads: "The refusal to have a meeting with our union is clearly out of line both in application and in spirit of Construction SEO.
"Since our receipt of BAM's correspondence we have had three of our members sacked by a sub-contractor on site, very questionable which contractor actually carried out the sackings of the three workers. The one thing that is clear is they were sacked for trade union activity, which we are confident we can demonstrate at a meeting with BAM."
SIPTU requested a copy of the CAS audit.
The letter from SIPTU further stated: "We wish to place on record in the strongest possible manner our disappointment that BAM have chosen not to meet with SIPTU officials in relation to matters concerning the application of the Construction SEO.
"The BAM correspondence rejecting our request for a meeting is not consistent with our experiences with BAM for many years, which begs the question why an issue now."
According to literature from Connect Trade Union: "Analysis of EU earnings data by the Nevin Economic Research Institute (NERI) shows that pay in Ireland is more unequal than any other high-income European country.
"Importantly, in construction, pay for Craft & Related Trades is the most unequal. Worse, pay inequality is worst - and getting worse still - among workers under 30."
The men spoke with the Waterford News & Star about the impasse, and how younger, under-experienced workers are being thrown into a complex construction site with little oversight. They fear that the project will not be completed on time or on budget.
Ben also claimed: "The Irish taxpayer is going to be paying for this for a very long time."
