The Irish Congress of Trade Unions" Construction Industry Committee (CIC) said today (Feb 16) that the Project 2040 development plan must prioritise high standards of training, work and pay and compliance with the Sectoral Employment Order to ensure the massive investment programme does not become a vehicle for bogus self-employment and ongoing tax avoidance.
Speaking as details of the €116 billion infrastructural investment programme were unveiled, CIC spokesperson Billy Wall said: "Project 2040 is a welcome opportunity to deliver world class infrastructure.
"But that requires high standards of training and employment to ensure we create and develop the necessary skills. We must also promote our apprenticeship system to ensure we have a steady flow of properly qualified workers now and into the future.
"It also means we have to eliminate the scourge of bogus-self-employment from the industry and create direct employment opportunities, with the most recent official study showing this remains a significant problem in our sector, with consequent revenue losses for the state and a weakening of labour rights and protections.
"Without these systems in place, the sector will struggle to attract the necessary workers which will impact negatively on the capacity of this plan to deliver critical infrastructure across the economy," Mr Wall said.
The Congress reports on Bogis Self-Employment is available here
