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Migrant Workers and the Construction Sector in Ireland
A preliminary report from the Migrant Careers and Aspirations research project
Alicja Bobek, Torben Krings, Elaine Moriarty, James Wickham, Justyna Salamonska
Trinity Immigration Initiative
3 September 2008
Trinity Immigration Initiative Trinity College Dublin
Employment Research Centre Trinity College Dublin
Contents List of Tables ..........................................................................................................2 List of Charts..........................................................................................................2 Introduction............................................................................................................3 An Overview of the Construction Sector in Ireland ...........................................4 Employment in the Construction Sector: The Role of Migrants.......................6 Employment in the Construction Sector ......................................................6 Employment and Migrants...........................................................................6 Occupational Structure and Pay...................................................................8 Trade Union Membership ............................................................................9 Health and Safety.......................................................................................10 Issues for Research: Employers’ Strategies and Migrants’ Careers ..............11 Employers’ Strategies: Issues for Research...............................................11 Sub-contracting in the Construction Sector ...................................11 Exploitation in the Construction sector..........................................11 Recruitment Practices ....................................................................12 Employees’ Careers and Aspirations: Issues and strategies ......................14 Access to the Sector and Skills ......................................................14 Social Networks and Informal Knowledge....................................15 Aspirations and Motivations ..........................................................15 References.............................................................................................................17 Appendix: Statistical Sources ...............................................................................19
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List of Tables Table 1 Table 2 Table 3 Table 4
Employment and Nationality in the Construction Sector 2004-2007.........7 Hourly Rates of Pay by Occupational Group 2000-2007 ...........................8 Trade Union Membership 1994-2004.........................................................9 Fatal and Non-Fatal Injuries in the Construction Sector, 2002-2007 .......10
List of Charts Chart 1 Chart 2 Chart 3
Construction as share of Total Employment in Europe, 2005 ....................6 Employment and Nationality, 2004-2007...................................................7 Hourly Rates of Pay in the Construction Sector, 2000-2007......................8
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Introduction Over the past few years the construction industry has played a crucial role for the Irish economy and its dynamic growth. By 2006, this sector accounted for 24% of GNP and its total output was €36.5 billion (CIF, 2008). The total share of employment for this sector stood at 12.6% in 2005 and was the highest among all European Union countries, which had an average of 7.9% (CSO, 2006: 19). However forecasts for the Irish economy in 2008 have been steadily revised downwards, with the construction sector in particular subject to a significant slowdown (DKM, 2008). The decline in residential and housing construction has generated a discussion as to the impact of the falling numbers of new developments on the Irish labour market and for our interests, on migrant employment in the construction sector. In order to analyse employment issues related to the Irish construction industry it is crucial to acknowledge that the sector itself is not homogenous. Firstly, the workforce profile within this sector can be characterised by a continuum from low skilled manual workers on one extreme to highly specialised and highly qualified employees on the other. Another distinction can be drawn between those who work ‘in house’, mostly in architectural firms or planning and consulting companies, and those who work ‘in field’ and are directly involved in construction sites. Employment itself can also be differentiated between investors, contractors, subcontractors, self employed and regular contract employees. As the construction sector is to some extent labour-intensive, it demands a relatively large proportion of unskilled work. According to the dual labour market theory, the low social status associated with physical work makes such employment unattractive for the domestic labour force in highly developed countries. In such cases, the industry can experience labour shortages that need to be filled (Piore, 1979). Products of the industry are immobile and one of the solutions for those labour shortages is the employment of mobile workers, recruited on the international rather than domestic labour markets (Fellini et al, 2007: 279). As a result, migrants play an important role for the sector either as an unskilled labour force filling the gaps on the bottom of the job hierarchy or as highly skilled and specialised employees whose presence is a response to skill shortages that have occurred during the rapid growth of the industry. This report is the third in a series of sectoral reports compiled by the Migrant Careers and Aspirations (MCA) project, one of six projects within the research programme of the Trinity Immigration Initiative. These reports seek to examine the situation of migrant workers in different sectors of the Irish economy. We are particularly interested in evaluating the significance of accession state nationals to particular sectors of the Irish economy which contribute background and context to the core aspect of the MCA project, namely, a longitudinal study of Polish workers who have migrated to Ireland and are active in the labour market. The report is based on desk research involving secondary data analysis of relevant and available statistical sources, a consideration of existing literature along with a number of primary interviews and fieldwork. The report comprises an overview of the Irish construction sector, employment context and issues related to both employers’ and employees’ strategies.
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An Overview of the Construction Sector in Ireland The unprecedented growth of the Irish construction sector reached its pinnacle in 2006, when 88,000 housing units were completed. Since 2007, there have been fears of a slowdown and according to the ESRI the number of completions for that year is estimated at 75,000. According to further predictions this number is set to fall to 51,000 in 2008, a fall of between 30 and 40% on 2007 completions (DKM, 2008: 2). Analysis of the situation between the second quarter of 2006 and the second quarter of 2007 clearly shows that the output of residential construction fell by 10% (CSO, 2007). Despite the slowdown in residential development, the overall output in the Irish building and construction industry is still growing and has in fact increased over 4% during the same two quarters (ibid). Growing activity in the public commercial and industrial developments along with public investment in infrastructure is substituting for the slowdown in the residential housing market (DKM, 2008: 2). This increase in public infrastructure is related to the new phase of the National Development Plan (NDP). The 6 year phase commenced in 2007 and will involve an investment of €184.00 billion which is a significant increase on the previous phase which finished in 2006 with expenditure of approx. €57 billion. According to the NDP breakdown, €54.6 billion is allocated for investment in economic infrastructure; €49.6 billion for social inclusion measures (children, people with disabilities, etc.); €33.6 billion for social infrastructure (housing, health, justice, etc.); €25.8 billion for human capital (schools, training, higher education, etc.), and €20 billion for enterprise, science and innovation (NDP, 2007). In addition, FAS has recently noted a growth in the number of the self-employed in the Irish construction sector and such an increase may indicate that there is a growing demand for repair and maintenance activities (FAS, 2007). As previously stated, the structure of the sector is not homogenous from both employers and employees points of view. Types and sizes of the firms vary with selfemployed subcontractors (‘one-person companies’) at one end of the spectrum and large companies with hundreds of employees at the other end. Although it is not possible to give the total number of the companies involved in the construction sector in Ireland, some conclusions on the structure of the sector can be drawn from existing data. According to the QNHS, in the fourth quarter of 2004, there were over 227,000 people working in the Irish construction sector and 146,000 of those were employed by companies with less then 20 persons. The Census of Building and Construction reported that there were 524 firms employing more then 20 persons in 2000. However, even though this figure had risen to 736 firms, employing over 65,000 workers in 2004 (CSO, 2005), in terms of employment share the main players are relatively small firms. This is linked to some broader changes in the employment structure of the sector. During the last two decades large firms have increasingly moved away from directly employing workers towards utilising subcontracted small firms and self-employed construction workers to carry out different tasks (DKM, 2006a). In 2004 there were only 224 companies operating in Ireland that were directly employing more than 50 people and the total share of employment for such companies was 16.7%. In turn, more than half of all those employed in the construction sector (122,100) are now either self-employed or work for small firms employing less than ten people (CSO, 2007a).
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Utilising subcontracting in this sector is not an unusual strategy and is quite widespread in the European construction sector (Balch et al. 2004). The impact of these subcontracting arrangements, however, differs across the EU, depending upon the level of labour market regulation. In countries such as Denmark and the Netherlands where the construction sector remains highly regulated and wages are set by collective agreements, subcontracting is less widespread. In turn, in the formerly highly regulated German construction sector there has been a major trend towards deregulation, often involving foreign subcontractors and ‘posted’ workers from other EU countries. Subcontracting arrangements are widespread too in countries such as Italy, Spain and Britain which have a more casualised construction workforce. In the former two countries, this often involves irregular migrants whereas in the UK selfemployment is widespread among both domestic and migrant workers (Balch et al. 2004; Byrne et al. 2005). The Irish construction sector appears to be more regulated as some formal training is required and the sector is governed by Registered Employment Agreements (REAs) which set out pay and working conditions. However, an increase in subcontracting and self-employment is likely to lead to the greater casualisation of the sector too. Moreover, there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that some migrant workers are not paid according to the prevalent rates of the REAs, of which the case of the Turkish Gama workers has been the most prominent example (Flynn 2006; O’Brien 2007). Nevertheless, on average wages in the Irish construction sector are stable and jobs are relatively well paid. In addition to the national minimum wage obligation, certain occupations are covered by additional agreements that cover a range of employment conditions. There are three types of such agreements currently in place: Employment Regulation Orders which are made by Joint Labour Committees, collective agreements that are the result of negotiations between trade unions and employers and finally Registered Employment Agreements which are collective agreements that have been registered with the Labour Court (CIB, 2008). Several occupational groups among the construction craftsmen along with construction operatives are covered by Registered Employment Agreements which are negotiated between construction-related trade unions such as SIPTU and the Construction Industry Federation. The Agreement outlines specific details regarding working conditions, wages and employees’ rights (Labour Court, 2006).
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Employment in the Construction Sector: The Role of Migrants The construction sector in Ireland has the largest share of employment among European Union countries, accounting for 12.6% of total employment in 2005 (CSO 2006a). Chart 1: Construction as share of Total Employment in Europe, 2005 14 12 10 8 6 4 2
ar y (E U2 5) d Ki ng do m Lu xe m bu rg Es to ni a D en m ar k Fr an ce G er m an y Fi nl an d Be lg iu m Sl ov en ia Sw ee de N n et he rla nd s Po la nd
ta M al
un g
ni te
Eu
ro p
U
ea n
C
Un i
on
H
e ec
st ria Au
G re
ly
ni a
Ita
ua
Li th
tv ia La
lic Sl ov ak ia
ze ch
Re p
ub
al
s
rtu g
yp ru C
Po
d la n
Sp
Ire
ai n
0
Source: Eurostat (quoted by the CSO Construction and Housing in Ireland)
Employment in the Construction Sector The increase of employment in the construction sector was also the largest across all sectors of the Irish economy. In 2000, there were 166, 200 people employed in construction; by 2005 this number had increased to 242,200 (CSO, 2006a).. There has been, however, a decline recently in the number of people employed within this sector. Employment fell by 6,000 people between the first and the third quarter of 2007, which was probably a result of the slowdown in residential housing activity. At the beginning of 2008 total employment stood at 2008 according to the QNJHS. The numbers of firms reporting vacancies is also smaller. In January 2007, 20% of companies in the construction sector reported vacancies compared to 9% by November of that year. This figure contrasts significantly with the 16% of companies who reported vacancies across all sectors of the economy. The number of the selfemployed in construction however has increased, which may indicate a growth in maintenance related activities (FAS, 2007). Employment and Migrants As pointed out earlier, construction is an important sector for labour migration and Ireland has been no exception to this. During the construction boom of recent years the sector experienced a significant inflow of migrants, particularly from the accession countries. As can be seen from Table 1, migrants accounted for 13% of the total industry workforce in the third quarter of 2007. This compared, for example, to almost 30% of migrant workers in the hotels and restaurants sector (CSO, 2007).
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Table 1 Employment and nationality in Construction industry 2004-2007 2004 (000s) 1) Construction Irish Nationals Non-Irish Nationals Of which: United Kingdom EU15 excl. Irl. & UK Accession states EU15 to EU27 Other Total persons in construction (Non-national as % of total)
2) Total Employment Irish Nationals Non-Irish Nationals Of which: United Kingdom EU15 excl. Irl. & UK Accession states EU15 to EU27 Other Total persons in construction (Non-national as % of total)
2005 (000s)
2006 (000s)
2007 (000s)
205.5 15.7
223.5 29.1
233.3 47.1
234.6 48.6
5.5 2.4 4.9 2.8 221.1 7.10%
7.1 1 16.2 4.8 252.6 11.52%
7.9 1.3 29.9 8.1 280.4 16.80%
6.3 1.4 35.7 5.1 283.2 17.16%
2004 (000s)
2005 (000s)
2006 (000s)
2007 (000s)
1,746.30 146.8
1,788.30 206
1,810.80 266.1
1,818.60 327.4
45 24.9 24.8 52.1 1,893.10 7.75%
52.2 27.9 68.9 57 1,944.30 10.60%
52.6 32.7 108.8 72 2,076.90 12.81%
50.7 29 165.7 82.1 2,146.00 15.26%
Source: CSO – QNHS (2004 – 2007 third quarter)
Chart 2: Construction Sector: employment and nationality, 2004-2007 300 Other
250
Accession states EU15 to EU27
200
EU15 excl. Irl. & UK
150
United Kingdom
100
Irish Nationals
50 0 2004 (000s) 2005 (000s) 2006 (000s) 2007 (000s)
Source: CSO – QNHS relevant years (third quarter)
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Occupational structure and pay The largest occupational group within the Irish construction sector are craft-related workers. In the second quarter of 2005 they accounted for 146,000 out of 242,000 construction employees (CSO 2006a:18). Chart 3: Hourly Rates of Pay in the Construction Sector, 2000-2007 Hourly Rates in Construction Idustry 20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0
All Employees
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Source: The Quarterly Inquiry on Earnings and Hours worked in Construction. Covers private businesses in the building industry with 10 or more persons engaged
The increase has applied to all occupational groups within the sector. Table 2 shows the breakdown for each occupational group, including the division between male and female employed in clerical positions. Table 2: Hourly Rates of Pay by Occupational Group in Construction Sector, 2000-2007 Construction Sector Average Earnings (hourly rates) 2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
All Employees
11.12
12.65
14.1
14.96
15.67
16.97
17.29
18.25
Clerical Employees - Male
11.55
12.16
13.03
14.04
14.9
16.36
15.99
17.48 14.26
Clerical Employees - Female
8.79
9.89
10.56
11.63
12.21
12.92
13.59
Foremen and supervisors
14.41
15.52
17.09
18.44
19.45
21.29
21.56
23.22
All manual employee
11.24
12.81
14.34
15.19
15.92
16.89
17.57
18.57
Skilled Operatives
20.94
13.48
14.84
16.25
17.33
18.05
19.54
19.73
Apprentices
6.88
7.82
9.37
10.18
10.07
10.91
10.75
11.38
Unskilled and semi skilled adults
9.99
12.02
13.5
13.83
14.42
15.09
16.26
17.03
Unskilled and semi skilled juveniles
8.43
8.86
8.3
8.94
8.85
9.87
10.5
13.44
Source: The Quarterly Inquiry on earnigns and hours worked in Construction Covers: private businesses in the building industry with 10 or more persons engaged
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The table clearly shows that the wage dispersion within the Irish construction sector is not high. Currently the average hourly rate is the highest for those in the foreman and supervisors occupational groups (€23.22 per hour) and the lowest for apprentices (€11.38 per hour). There is, however, a clear difference between male and female clerical employees, as the average rate for females is lower than for males. Because of the physical nature of the work, the construction sector is very maledominated, with the employment share of women being only around 5 per cent (CSO 2006b: 41). This applies, however, to those occupations covered by the NACE groups (see Appendix) and does not necessarily include those working in architectural, planning and consulting firms that are involved in the construction sector. Trade Union Membership Trade unions are one of the major agents involved in the regulation of the Irish construction sector. The occupational groups covered by the workers-protecting agreements are those for whom the union membership would be a major advantage. However, trade unions do not really control the labour market as they do in, for example, Sweden, and they usually lack the power ‘on site’ to enforce the REAs. During the period between 1994 and 2004 trade union density, however, has in fact dropped as shown in Table 3. Table 3: Trade Union Membership, 1994-2004 Trade Union Membership, Ireland 1994-2004 1994 Trade Union density: All employees 45.8 Man 47.1 Women 44.1 Irish Nationals 46.2 Non-Irish nationals 30.2 Construction Sector 46.8 Union Members (total) 423,900
2004 34.6 34.9 34.3 36.0 15.5 27.1 521,400
Source: CSO – Quarterly National Household Survey: Union Membership 1994 to 2004 (7 September 2005).
In addition, when analysing the micro-data from the QNHS, it clearly shows that trade union membership is significantly lower for the non-Irish construction workforce. According to this data, in 2006 the sector had an overall union density of 24.2% with Irish nationals more likely to be a member of a union than non-Irish nationals (26.5% compared to 9.9%). As many migrant workers are employed at lower skilled positions that do not require a high level of English language competency, these workers are potentially more vulnerable to exploitation as they may not know their rights due to communication problems. However, it is clear that this situation has recently improved. Firstly, trade unions such as SIPTU provide information for immigrants. This generally appears in the form of leaflets and guidelines which have been translated into the most popular migrant languages including Polish, Lithuanian, Romanian and Chinese. For some time SIPTU has been attempting to organise migrant workers and now has several non-Irish organisers. Secondly, as a result of trade union pressure the National Employment Rights Agency was set up under the
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social partnership agreement Towards 2016. It too provides information in the main immigrant languages. The current situation appears to be virtually all immigrants, whatever their English language competence, are aware of the statutory national minimum wage. Equally there appears to be far greater awareness of and compliance with legislation on working conditions, especially in relation to safety (see below). Most construction workers are also aware of the minimum rates defined by the REAs, especially those who are engaged in their own ethnic networks. While it is quite clear that these are by no means always followed, their existence is sometimes used as a bargaining counter by employees. Health and Safety Issues Although the Irish construction sector is highly regulated from the health and safety point of view, due to the character of the industry and the conditions on sites, the industry seems to be the most dangerous sector in relation to both fatal and non-fatal accidents (See Table 4). Table 4: Fatal and Non-Fatal Injuries in the Construction Sector, 2002-2007 All Sectors Fatal Injuries Non-Fatal Injuries
2002 61 26,400
2003 68 21,900
2004 50 21,840
2005 73 24,000 *
2006 51
2002 21 4500
2003 20 5300
2004 16 5820
2005 23 5700 *
2006 12
2007 67 *
Construction Sector Fatal Injuries Non-Fatal Injuries
2007 18 *
Source: Health and Safety Authority, 2007a & 2007b
The number of fatal injuries sustained in the construction sector is the highest among all economic sectors in Ireland, followed by agriculture, hunting and forestry. The rate of non-fatal workplace injuries was highest in 2004 and 2005 and the second highest for the period 2002-2004 when the largest number of accidents took place in the ‘Other production industries’ sector. Migrant workers are disproportionately affected by these accidents. For instance, in 2005 they were three times more likely than Irish workers to suffer a fatal injury on a building site (Dooley, 2006). Although all construction workers in Ireland are required to undertake some health and safety training in order to obtain the mandatory ‘Safe Pass’, low level of English language competency may inhibit some migrants from fully understanding the training. To improve this situation, the CIF and the HSA have produced some information material that specifically targets foreign workers (EIW, 2007: 72).
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Employers Strategies: Issues for Research Due to both the immobile character of the product and the low social status of manual work, the construction sector is characterised by a general specific division of labour, where production is fragmented between large contractors and small and medium firms acting as subcontractors (Fellini et al, 2007: 279). In addition, this sector remains highly speculative and high risk, thus subcontracting can be used as a strategy of diversification as it provides more flexibility in employment (EIW, 2007). Subcontracting in the Construction Sector As already mentioned, subcontracting is quite wide-spread in the construction industry in Ireland. The data presented in the previous section clearly shows that the majority of companies are of medium and small size and the number of those who are directly employing more than 250 people is in fact very small. Special trade and certain parts of large developments, such as plumbing, electricity and concrete are increasingly outsourced to smaller companies which are subcontracted by the larger firms of the sector. Moreover, the number of self-employed construction workers has significantly increased in recent years. In addition, large employers increasingly utilise agency workers, not only for relatively low-skilled work, but also for higher skilled positions such as site engineers. Another strategy is the use of foreign subcontractors and ‘posted’ workers. Across Europe, but particularly in high-wage countries such as Germany, the cross-national posting of workers has led to controversies about the terms and conditions of these workers. The most contentious issue is if these workers should receive the prevalent rates of the host country or the (usually lower) rates of the country where the subcontractor is based (Balch et al. 2004). In Ireland, posted workers are covered by the same employment rights as other workers. Therefore, they should be paid in accordance with the Registered Employment Agreements of the construction sector (EIRO 2003). As this report has shown, the number of migrant workers in the Irish construction sector has significantly increased in recent years in light of skill and labour shortages during the boom years. In terms of migrant labour, the following recruitment strategies have been identified: (a) indirect external recruitment: recruitment of foreign workers that are already present in the country (b) direct external recruitment: recruiting foreign workers directly from their country of origin (c) subcontracting: outsourcing to companies who employ foreign workers or outsourcing foreign companies who bring their own workers from the country of origin (posted workers) (d) Internal Labour Market recruitment: recruitment of foreign workers on site and dispatching them internationally (Fellini et al, 2007: 287) While the percentage of migrants present in the workforce is evidence that Irish firms are using the strategy of employing foreign employees, it cannot be inferred from the data which one of the above recruitment strategies is more widespread in Ireland. However, it appears likely that the majority of migrant construction workers are recruited in Ireland, as part of various employment relationships (directly recruited by a company, working for an employment agency, self-employed).
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Exploitation in the Construction Sector As mentioned above, regulations are in place with regard to working conditions and wages. However, there is some evidence of workers exploitation, mainly through paying lower rates than those set up in the Registered Employment Agreements (Flynn 2006; O’Brien 2007). Such cases along with issues linked to migrant workers’ rights have been raised by trade unions, statutory bodies and NGOs. There are also some issues related to agency workers. The recent SIPTU campaign, ‘Justice for Agency Workers’ has highlighted some problems experienced by these workers, many of whom migrants, who often are on worse conditions than directly employed workers (SIPTU 2007). Recruitment Practices The criteria used for recruitment are quite specific for the construction sector. Unlike other sectors, particularly the hospitality sector, issues of appearance and customer orientation do not seem to be relevant. However, an (imputed) readiness for ‘hard work’ is crucial for manual labourers, and there is anecdotal evidence that employers assume this to be a characteristic of migrants. Amongst higher-skilled employees technical knowledge appears to be the most important factor in the recruitment process. The strategy of utilising social networks in the recruitment process is not unique to Ireland and is found in other countries with a high rate of construction industry migrant workers (Byrne et al, 2005: 1030). This can result in horizontal segregation, where low skilled jobs become reserved for particular ethnic groups. It can also lead to vertical segregation, where everyone on the same site, whatever their skill levels, is of the same ethnicity. As a whole the Irish construction sector does not have rigid ethnic segregation. Nonetheless, particular sites are ethnically segmented. Our preliminary research shows that there are situations where, for example, all of the bricklayers on a particular construction site are Polish. As regards recruitment of migrant workers, the level of English language capacity does not seem to be a major factor, especially for the lower skilled positions. It is, however, interesting to explore how knowledge of one of the Eastern European languages can actually be an advantage. For example, there is evidence of Polish engineers acting as translators between Eastern European low skilled workers and the English speaking site management 1 . As most higher-skilled construction jobs require a basic command of English, it is particularly useful to employers to have at least one higher skilled employee from one of the accession countries on a construction site to facilitate communication. In terms of formal qualifications it appears that these are less important in countries such as Italy and Spain where the construction sector is less regulated. In these countries it is previous work experience and practical know-how which are the key to entering the construction sector. In turn, in countries such as Denmark and the Netherlands where the sector is highly regulated, vocational training and formal qualifications are essential (Byrne et al. 2005: 1029). Ireland appears to be an 1
While Eastern European languages are not completely similar, it is possible to communicate between them on a basic level.
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intermediate case, perhaps resembling the British construction sector. As in the latter, a Construction Skills Certification Scheme is in operation for non-craft operatives. Moreover, FÁS, the Irish training and employment authority, provides an apprenticeship system for certain construction-related occupations such as bricklayers and carpenters which is organised in co-operation with the Department of Education and Science and the social partners (see www.fas.ie for further information). However, there are reasons to believe that the increasing use of outsourcing and subcontracting in the Irish construction sector may have a detrimental effect on training and apprenticeships and may lead to the growing casualisation of work as observed in the UK (Forde/MacKenzie 2004). One important issue to be explored in research is the role of migrant labour in this process. There is little doubt that the recent inflow of migrant workers has helped alleviating skill and labour shortages in the construction sector. However, it is equally plausible to assume that employers increasingly utilise migrant labour at the expense of investment in training and upskilling of the domestic workforce.
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Employees Careers and Aspirations: Issues and Strategies There is no doubt that the recent decline in new residential developments in Ireland is having a negative effect on employment within the sector. Such a slowdown will affect not only employers’ strategies but also the choices of migrants in the sector. Although wage dispersion within the sector is not high and in fact manual workers can earn more than the non-manual occupations, the strategies and issues are different for the two groups. Due to the recent construction boom, there have been significant labour and skill shortages in Ireland. Regarding the former, due to the physically demanding nature of much of the low-skilled work, and the low social status attached to it, demand for additional labour could not be satisfied by the native workforce alone. However, migrant employment is not confined to the low-skilled occupations in construction, as there have been further shortages, ranging from skilled manual operatives to highskilled employees such as engineers, site managers and quantity surveyors (EGFSN 2005). Our preliminary research suggests that migrants from the accession countries find it relatively easy to have their qualifications recognised, especially as architects and engineers. This has no doubt been facilitated by developments at the EU level, including the EU Directive 85/384 which stipulates the mutual recognition of formal qualifications in architecture. Access to the Sector, Social Networks and Informal Knowledge As there is little customer interaction in the sector, some construction occupations only require little English. This is particularly the case for low-skilled manual operatives who effectively can work on building sites with very little English, even more so if the foreman is a co-national. As mentioned above, however, this raises health and safety issues. From our preliminary research it also transpired that on occasions highly-skilled migrants, including architects and engineers, found work, even though their English has been very basic initially. This has been facilitated by personal contacts as these migrants usually work in a project team with other conationals where at least one person is bilingual. Thus, migrants, particularly those who only have basic English language competency, or no English at all, are dependent upon ‘word of mouth’ and personal contacts when looking for employment. In other words, they need access to social capital acquired within the social networks that they are engaged with (Massey et al, 1998). Such networks are used by those who already are in the host country, but also by those who are still in the planning stage of their move (Fellini et al, 2007). Through these networks, migrants may be recommended to the employer by other conationals who already work on the site. Thus, the weakness of human capital (not having a sufficient level of English) is compensated for by social capital obtained through personal networks which can then be exchanged for financial capital. In addition, as reported by the Migrant Right Centre Ireland, there have been cases of migrants ‘buying jobs’ from friends and job ‘gatekeepers’ in a number of sectors including construction (MCRI, 2007: 25). Through social capital accumulated within networks, migrants also obtain knowledge about employment rights and other issues such as work conditions, minimum wage rates, mandatory payslips and other revenue related documents. As a result those migrants who come to work on Irish construction sites are usually aware of their rights and obligations. In the construction sector, informal networks are
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utilised by both skilled and less-skilled workers. However, the former may be less dependent on these contacts than the latter, as they have more opportunities to advance in the labour market than migrants who are confined to manual, low-skilled labour in construction. Aspirations and Motivations Migrant construction workers may have different aspirations and motivations, depending not least on their skill levels and English language competency. There may be those who only plan to stay abroad temporarily in order to secure some financial gains. In turn, others may see their decision to migrate as a start of a new career abroad. In the case of the former, they perceive their work as a job to earn some money, whereas in the case of the latter they treat work as part of a career trajectory (Wickham et al, 2007: 18; Macri, 2006: 54). Taking into consideration the relatively high wages even for manual workers, it might be the case that for many migrants the main motivation to work in the sector is based purely on financial grounds. For the higher skilled, on the other hand, their employment may also be the starting point for a ‘career’, particularly if they improve their level of English. This is of particular importance as migrants in Ireland are often employed below their qualifications which can partially be attributed to a lack of language proficiency (Barrett et al., 2006). While a good command of English may not be required for an entry position in technical occupations, it can however play an important role when progressing with the career. As previously mentioned, the recent downturn in construction is likely to affect migrant workers. Those who are laid off may face three possible scenarios: move back to the home country, move to another country or re-qualify and move on in the Irish labour market. Our research aims to establish, which one of these three options is the most popular one among migrants. Another issue to be explored in research is to what extent the downturn in construction will affect inter-group relations ‘on site’. In recent years, when both the employment rate and the wages of Irish construction workers significantly increased, the incorporation of additional labour from abroad has been relatively unproblematic, in spite of cases of underpayment of migrants. However, at times of an economic downturn tensions may increase, particularly if employers should deploy migrant labour as a ‘cost-cutting’ method at the expense of domestic workers, as anecdotal evidence suggest some employers do (McGreevy 2008).
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References Balch, A., Fellini, I., Ferro, A., Fullin, G. and Hunger, U. 2004. ‘The political economy of labour migration in the European construction sector,’ in M. Bommes, K. Hoesch, U. Hunger and H. Kolb (eds), Organisational Recruitment and Patterns of Migration: Interdependencies in an Integrating Europe. IMIS-Beiträge 25. Osnabrück: Institute for Migration Research and International Studies. Barrett, Alan; Adele Bergin and David Duffy (2006). 'The Labour Market Characteristics and Labour Market Impacts of Immigrants in Ireland…’ Economic and Social Review 37.1 (Spring): 1-26 Byrne J., Clarke L., Van der Meer M. 2005. Gender and ethnic minority exclusion form skilled occupations in construction: a Western European comparison, Construction Management and Economics, 23:10. Citizens Information Board, 2008, Employment Regulation Orders and Registered Employment Agreements. http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/employment/employment-rights-andconditions/industrial-relations-and-trade-unions/employment-regulation-orders-andregistered-employment-agreements (accessed 19/02/2008). Construction Industry Federation. 2008. Overview of Industry: Construction Activity Report 2006, http://www.cif.ie/asp/section.asp?s=19, (accessed 19/02/2008) CSO 2005a. Quarterly National Household Survey: Union Membership 1994 to 2004 (7 September 2005) CSO 2005b. Census of Building and Construction (5 July 2007) CSO 2006a. Construction and Housing in Ireland CSO 2006b. Census 2006: Volume 7 – Principal Economic Status and Industries. Dublin: Stationery Office. CSO 2007a. Small Business in Ireland CSO 2007b. Production in Building and Construction Index (19 December 2007) DCU. 2007. European Intercultural Workplace: Republic of Ireland. Dublin: DCU. DKM. 2006a. The Economic Impact of Small Business in Ireland. Dublin: DKM. DKM. 2006b. Review of the Construction Industry 2006 and Outlook 2007-2009. Dublin: DKM. DKM. 2008. Economy Watch: Snapshot of Irish Economic Forecasts. Dublin: DKM. DKM. 2007. Construction Industry Indicator., Dublin: DKM (November 2007) Dooley, C. 2006. ‘Deaths in workplace rose 25% last year’, The Irish Times, 10 May 2006. EIRO 2003. Thematic feature – posted workers (Ireland), http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/2003/06/tfeature/ie0306202t.htm (accessed 13/08/2008) Expert Group on Future Skill Needs 2005. Skills Needs in the Irish Economy: The Role of Migration. Dublin: EGFSN FAS. 2007. The Irish Labour Market Review 2007. Dublin: FAS Fellini I., Ferro A., Fullin G. 2007. Recruitment processes and labour mobility: the construction industry in Europe, Work, Employment, Society, 21 Flynn, G. 2006 ‘Mobile workers disputes jolt Ireland’s ‘social partnership model’. Transfer 12 (2), 267-272. Forde, C. and MacKenzie, R. 2004 ‘Cementing skills: training and labour use in UK construction.’. Human Resource Management Journal, 14(3): 74-88 Health and Safety Authority. 2007a. Non-Fatal Workplace Injuries, http://www.hsa.ie/eng/Statistics/Non-Fatal_Injury/ (accessed 19/02/2008)
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Health and Safety Authority. 2007b. Fatal Injuries by Sector, http://www.hsa.ie/eng/Statistics/Fatal_Injury/ (accessed 19/02/2008) Irish Times. 2007. A slowdown, not a shotdown, (28 December 2007), http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2007/1228/1198509902331.html (accessed 19/02/2008) Labour Court. 2006. Registered Employment Agreement (Construction Industry Wages And Conditions of Employment) Variation Order, 2006 With Effect From 17 November, 2006. Laverty, K. 2005. Irelands Top 150 Companies, Construction (The Official Magazine of the Construction Industry Federation), February 2005. Macri, G. 2006. Cultural Diversity and Career Development in the Irish Hotel Sector. Dublin: DCU. Massey, D.S. 1998. Worlds in Motion: Understanding International Migration at the End of the Millenium. Oxford: Oxford University Press. McGreevy, A. 2008. ‘Major warns of “immigrant backlash”’. The Irish Times, 29 May 2008. Migrant Right Centre Ireland. 2007. Realising Integration: Migrant Workers Undertaking Essential Low-Paid Work in Dublin City. Dublin: MRCI (September 2007). NDP. 2007. http://www.ndp.ie/viewdoc.asp?fn=%2Fdocuments%2Fhomepage.asp (accessed 19/02/2008) O’Brien, C. 2007 ‘The rights and wrongs of migrant labour’. The Irish Times, 26 May 2007. Piore, M. 1979. Birds of Passage: Migrant Labour and Industrial Societies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. SIPTU 2007. Justice for Agency Workers http://www.siptu.ie/Resources/JusticeforAgencyWorkers/FileDownload,9914,en.pdf (accessed 13/08/2008). Wickham et al 2007. Migrant Workers and the Irish Hospitality Sector. http://www.tcd.ie/immigration/css/downloads/MCA110208Report.pdf
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Statistical Sources The statistical data is mainly based on the CSO resources, such as Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS), Census of Building and Construction, and other CSO publications. Additional sources include DKM Economic Consultants and FAS reports. All sources consulted differentiate the construction industry as a NACE category ‘F’, which comprises the following occupations: 45.1 Site preparation, demolition and wrecking of buildings, earth moving, test drilling and boring 45.2 Building of complete constructions or parts thereof; civil engineering, construction of highways, roads, water projects and other construction work involving special trades 45.3 Building installation, installation of electrical wiring and fittings, insulation, plumbing and other installation 45.4 Building completion, plastering, joinery installation, floor & wall covering, painting and glazing and other building completion 45.5 Renting of construction or demolition equipment with operator All of the above categories relate to construction site workers and, therefore, the statistics presented in the report also relate to those occupational groups. The construction sector is, however, more complex and some groups within other NACE categories should be also taken into the consideration as they are involved in the sector. These include workers who are employed in architectural, planning and consulting firms. Although it is not possible to present detailed statistics related to such groups, some of the issues will overlap, especially related to the skilled employees’ strategies
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