Zarah ChoudharyAccording to trade union Unite, migrant health care assistants (HCAs) on general employment permits in Ireland have fallen below the new national minimum wage which came into effect on 1st January.
Migrant health care assistants on existing contracts will not benefit from the minimum annual remuneration of €30,000, which also took effect on 1st January but only for those on new contracts.
Workers on existing contracts will remain on a salary of €27,000 – below the threshold for family reunification.
The increase in the Government-mandated salary was originally due to take effect in January 2024 but was postponed a year following lobbying by employer groups.
Unite also noted that the €30,000 rate for new health care assistant recruits is still below the current non-European employment permit scheme standard minimum salary of €34,000.
As well as earning less than the family reunification threshold, Unite said that migrant workers on existing contracts could fall below the new national minimum age (NMW) of €13.50 per hour, which also took effect on 1st January.
Workers on the NMW will earn €27,450 – €450 more than migrant HCAs on existing contracts.
Susan Fitzgerald, secretary at Unite Irish, said: “Migrant HCAs provide essential care to some of the most vulnerable people in our community, whether in nursing home or home care settings.
“The incoming Government must stop listening to bosses and move immediately to ensure that the increased salary applies to all workers regardless of whether they are on new or existing contracts.”
While the wages of migrant HCAs on existing contracts should see their salary increase to the new NMW – which is a statutory wage floor – they could still earn below the family reunification threshold and will be paid less than new hires performing the same role.
Michael O’Brien, regional officer at Unite, added: “It is intolerable that government policy is not only suppressing the wages of some of the most vital workers in our community at the behest of business interests, but also creating new wage inequalities and effectively penalising workers on existing contracts.
“Unite have already made a submission to the consultation on minimum annual remuneration. Our position is clear.
“Increases in salary thresholds should apply across the board to those workers already here as well as new recruits.
“Furthermore, the discrimination of migrant healthcare assistants compared to other workers on the permit on a considerably higher minimum salary must end and the barriers to family reunification end with it.”
