Courts / Tipperary / Report
Workers treated "appallingly" at "work camp" awarded more than €1m
Summary
In a High Court decision dated 18 December 2018, Ms Justice Carmel Stewart awarded more than €1 million in damages and interest to a group of twenty Portuguese workers who had been employed by three Portuguese companies—Rosas Construtores SA, Constructocoes Gabriel AS Couto SA and Empresa Deconstrucoes Amandio Carvalho SA—under the RAC Eire Partnership. The workers had been building a section of the N7 motorway between Limerick and Nenagh in 2007‑2008 and claimed they were treated appallingly, underpaid, and housed in a cramped, fire‑hazardous prefab building with no drinkable water, unreliable showers and foul wastewater. They alleged unreasonable wage deductions for accommodation and laundry, and that the employers kept fraudulent records of hours worked. The judge found the employers breached numerous employment regulations, including the Organisation of Working Time Act, and ruled the workers were entitled to damages of €818,000, with the final award expected to exceed €1 million after interest.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Workers treated "appallingly" at "work camp" awarded more than €1m. Charges or matters: breach of contract; unreasonable deductions from wages; provision of substandard accommodation; fraudulent records of working hours. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision
When:
- 2007 and 2008 Other
- new year Other
- 2018-12-18 Publication
Case subjects
Applicant
Charges: breach of contract; unreasonable deductions from wages; provision of substandard accommodation; fraudulent records of working hours (Alleged Or Contested)
Places mentioned
Topics
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