Unite the Union, Ireland Region

Workers collateral damage as government panders to anti-immigrant sentiment

Unite, which represents health care assistants (HCAs) and others on general employment permits, today (Wednesday) accused the government of abusing workers and families to pander to anti-immigrant sentiment.  The union was responding to the policy document on Non-EEA Family Reunification published by Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan today.

The union’s Irish secretary Susan Fitzgerald said: “The cynicism of this policy is staggering. On the one hand, the government mandates poverty pay for non-EEA healthcare assistants. On the other hand they have retained unrealistically high salary thresholds for a worker to bring over their spouse and children, knowing full well that these vital workers cannot bridge the gap. To add insult to injury, an application fee is also being introduced while applications will only be assessed on a single income. This amounts to enforced family separation”. 

Unite and other civil society organisations have been campaigning for abolition of the waiting times and income thresholds for workers to bring over family members. Instead, the government today doubled down on its draconian rules.

Unite noted that the discriminatory nature of the rules is highlighted by the fact that a worker seeking to bring over an adult dependent relative must have had a gross income exceeding 185% of the average yearly earnings over the previous three years.

Unite regional officer Michael O’Brien said: “Unite will continue campaigning for a human-rights based family reunification policy. Many of these workers have been working and waiting for years to have their families live with them. Now they find themselves made collateral damage as the government attempts to pander to anti-immigrant sentiment”.