Spirit of '98 alive at Great Island

The protesters who are currently involved in picketing the site of the new Endesa Power Plant in Great Island in South Wexford have vowed to keep fighting until a satisfactory outcome is reached.
The protest broke out after workers learned that foreign workers were to be brought in and under paid during the construction phase of the multi-million euro project. Polish workers have joined Irish workers in not crossing the picket line.



Great Island

 Endesa have claimed that they don't understand the nature of the protest, saying that this job is a simple overhaul, and not the first phase of the project. This sounds like the poorly prepared lies of a company that has been well known to exploit workers in other countries.
For too long, during the Tiger years, Irish people were prepared to ignore the exploitation of foreign workers here. This exploitation led in part to the collapse of the Irish construction industry. Foreign workers were not to blame. The blame lays with those businesses who exploited them.
Endesa is such a business.
If we are going to reach the light at the end of this very dark recession tunnel, then we must put new laws in place that will prevent  any worker from being exploited in the future.
During the great recession, the Americans adopted the policy of "an honest days pay for an honest days work". Its time for Irish society to adopt such principals. Its time for us to punish the likes of Endesa, who continue to ignore wage laws. Its time to build our new Ireland.