€116,000 awarded to restaurant worker

A Pakistani man who was forced to work almost 60 hours a week at a Dublin restaurant for five years, for a take-home pay of just €50 a week, has been awarded €116,000 compensation by the Labour Relations Commission.

The employer, who cannot be named for legal reasons, should pay out for gross breaches in employment law, an LRC rights commissioner has recommended.

The man came to Ireland legally but upon arrival was virtually held at ransom by his employer, says the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland, which represented the worker.

The man said that from 2001 he worked "extreme" hours - in excess of 58 hours each week, seven days a week. He was paid €150 per week, of which €100 was deducted by the employer for his accommodation, says the migrant rights centre.

He claimed the employer held his passport and threatened him with revoking his work permit, loss of his accommodation and deportation if he complained. When he worked up the courage to complain, he was sacked.

The case was heard in December and the centre was informed of the Rights Commissioner's decision this week.

"It took a lot of courage for him to break free from the threats and control that the employer apparently exerted over him," says MRCI's director, Siobhan O'Donoghue.

The worker now has another job in Ireland, and has brought his family here to live with him, says the centre.

© 2008 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times