Slave Wages...
 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4382357.stm

:Yikes: Thats about 70p? And I thought my wages were pants!!!

Hope she has her sea legs packed!!! ;)

Re: Slave Wages...
 

Good for her! Horrible to see a company yet again hiding behind the agency it uses to supply cheap labour though.

Re: Slave Wages...
 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/4392345.stm

In the end she is roumoured to get a circa £17K payout!!!

Lol, good for her!

Re: Slave Wages...
 

This was covered on another thread I think ;) but a timely complement to the Workers Win Bank Holiday rights thread.

Good on her though!

Re: Slave Wages...
 

But was the company hiding behind the agency, its the company that are paying the £17k compensation. I understood the company cancelled the contract with the agency when they found out about the wages paid to the employee. How can the company be made to look the villain in this case?

I think the real shame and crime here, is a foreign worker travels to another country to take a job and ends up getting a £17K payout within a very short period of time. I think its certainly a kick in the teeth for the local workers who have been treated unfairly in similar circumstances and not received any compensation.

I guess she can thank the media attention for her payout, the same media/newspapers that the Liberals say only report what they want.

Still £17K is a fortune in the Phillipines, she will now be set up for the rest of her life and will no doubt go back home with her ill gotten gains. :td:

Re: Slave Wages...
 

I am completely speechless Escapee.You are such a racist...I'm getting to the point with you that I'm so disgusted by your attitude that I may have to put you on ignore.I also haven't given a red rep in a VERY long time but I'm strongly tempted to at the moment.

Re: Slave Wages...
 

How do you qualify calling my remark as racist?

My remark is not aimed at any particular race, I am pointing out that someone from a foreign country took a job and shortly after was made a very large payment as compensation. Surely its a smack in the face for employees who were born and lived in that country for years, and possibly been subject to situations of a very similar nature.

I know that £17K is a fortune in the Phillipines because my girlfriend is in fact from the Phillipines and has bought property back home through working hard in this country. Perhaps she knows me better and would be better qualified to answer if I make racist comments, or if I am indeed a racist.

It seems again that someone has decided to call someone else a racist to make everyone side against them!

PS: My girlfriend also thought it was wrong when she heard about the case, I guess she most be considered racist as well then. :confused:

Re: Slave Wages...
 

So if someone from the local region had taken the same job for the same wages that would be ok?They would deserve the payout?But because this woman is from the Phillipines she is undeserving?Do you actually think that doesn't come across as racist?

Oh and I don't call people racist lightly.I do have a good idea what is racist.

Re: Slave Wages...
 

No, you are choosing to look at me as racist, instead of seeing that I am pointing out what a kick in the teeth it is for many locals who have probably been poorly treated by employers.

For some reason the press and union has decided to use this womans case as an example.

PS: I dont think anyone from that region would of got the payout, how many people in those sort of situations get a payout. The woman should of been paid the right amount for the hours she worked, and I guess that would of been nowhere near the £17k. Why should someone profit when many others get nothing?

Re: Slave Wages...
 

Unfortunately it seems as though the agency that hired her for the ferry company knew how little people get paid in this persons native country and therefor paid her according to that wage scale and not a European pay scale. She wouldn't be the first person to get paid bugger all on a liner though, a lot of cabin crew are paid a pittance in relation to the hours they have to work. I'm not saying that she did or did not deserve a payout but she only worked for 1 day so how did this necessitate such a large payout and how was it settled so quickly? Looks like the company settled before people looked into the rest of it's staffing.

Re: Slave Wages...
 

Mainly because I'm sure none of the locals would have taken the job for those wages so I think your concern for the locals losing out is poorly placed.

Re: Slave Wages...
 

If a local person had been hired by the agency then surely a minimum wage would have been quoted. I think that the agency in question has taken advantage of the persons low expectation for a wage.

Re: Slave Wages...
 

Don't they have minimum wages in Ireland then? If they took advantage of her being a foreigner, and deliberately underpaid her on the assumption she wouldn't know better, than that is exploitation and everyone needs the book thrown at them.

There is a fallacy though with the minimum wage though with regards to contracts, (and I think thats what she has got?).

If I agree to do something for someone for £10, on the assumption that it takes 1 hour, but it takes me 5 hours... that means I am being paid £2 an hour, and so I am being paid under minimum wage. Can I request a top-up and is the person paying me legally obliged to top me up to minimum wage £5/hr-ish?

The case isn't very well explained in that report though, the terminolgy is a bit wishy-washy. For example, "expected" isn't the same as "required".

Re: Slave Wages...
 

So how many times have we heard about someone taking a company to court for being underpaid by a few hundred, (or whatever they owed) and getting paid £17K?

The only reason this one single case of someone being ripped off came to light, was the press chose to highlight it. Others are in similar situations everyday where they are being treated unfairly by their employer, but who cares about them.

Perhaps they are not getting paid as low as this woman, but does that really matter, an injustice is an injustice and people should be compensated accordingly. Instead this case has compensated one woman extortionatly and many others can go and take a running jump.

It makes no difference to me where this woman comes from or what skin colour she has, I would have exactly the same view if she was a local. One person should not benefit that much whilst others are ignored, its as much a crime as the underpayment.

Re: Slave Wages...
 

A curious story and begs the question where else is this kind of pay rate & working conditions is being conducted.

The Irish minimum wage is apparently 7 Euros an hour, the UK minimum wage is £4.85 an hour. The girl concened was working 12 hours 7 days a week for the pittance of 75 per hour. To say the least it disgraceful; the job agency concened and the shipping company itself employed someone, and it matters not who at this dreadful wage. We know of course that job agencies have a nice mark up in its contract with the company and probably may have enjoyed an income up to two or three times or even more the wage of the girl concerned.

It is good that the Irisjh trade union concerned took the issue up and reached a deal for the girl concerned. If the agency and the Irish Ferries had paid the minimum wage in the first place then they would not have had to be embarrasssed.


SIPTU

Re: Slave Wages...
 

Agencies are indeed often on a very good mark up.

Hospitals in my area pay between £50-100 an hour for a contract grade C nurse, the nurse generally gets paid around £30-55 an hour. The situation is very similar in the electronics industry.

My whole disagreement with this case is the level of compensation, the woman will now be a millionaire in her country, whilst other underpaid workers will be fighting their silent cause without the help of the press.

Re: Slave Wages...
 

I'm finding it hard to see your logic here.You are saying no one deserves to be given this compensation at all local or not now?Whether they recieved such low wages or not? :erm:

Well if firms behaving this way don't get stung every now and then they would never modify their behaviour would they?Seems it's a damned good way to not only put them under the spotlight but to get them to pay too.I suspect that this is the tip of the iceberg and now they will have to tread very carefully in future because the unions will be keeping a close eye on them...I do not begrudge this woman one single pound/euro of her pay out...Even if she only worked for three days, if it gets fair treatment for all in the future.

Re: Slave Wages...
 

Well that's the fault of the job agency and Irish Ferries, they should have paid the minimum wage in the first place. Frankly, I believe she earned it and it's up to her how she spends the money, it's her life. By the way it was the trade union concerned that helped the girl, the press were on the sidelines.

Re: Slave Wages...
 

No, I dont think any individual should get these levels of compensation. Perhaps in these sort of cases, it would be better to compensate the employee for the amount they were underpaid, with the rest going into a fund for others who are not compensated for such things.

This level of compensation is unbelievable when compared to official government redundancy terms in this country. Someone who is employed by a company for many years would not get anywhere approaching the figure this woman received.

This is not promoting a fair and level playing field for others who are being treated unfairly.