Gama Solidairty in Ballymun

dublin | worker & community struggles and protests | news report Tuesday May 24, 2005 16:39 by Kevin Wingfield - Ballymun Gama Solidarity Group kevinwingfield at eircom dot net 086-3074060

BRL targetted in protest and Multi cultural Evening set for Thursday

Ballymun locals support Gama strikers and hold multi-cultural evening

Supporters of the Gama strikers iorganised a lunchtime protest outside the Civic Offices in Ballymun today over Ballymun Regeneration Ltd (BRL) – a subsidiary of Dublin City Council – complicity in the abuses of Gama workers. BRL awarded the contracts to Gama Construction and has remained silent in the face of Gama’s abuses.
The Ballymun Gama Solidarity Group handed in a letter of protest, reproduced below.
The group is also organsing a multi-cultural evening on Thursday 26th May in the Towers Pub in Ballymun from 7.30 till late .
Performers, World Music, and craic: Gama strikers and members of Ballymun’s diverse communities will be there, Guest speaker Joe Higgins TD €5 (€3 conc)


Ballymun Gama Solidarity Group
24 May 2005
To Ballymun Regeneration Ltd

As you are no doubt aware, over the past three years, several hundred Turkish workers were brought into this country to work on major projects awarded to Gama Construction by Ballymun Regeneration Ltd (BRL).
It is known that the workers were worked for as much as 80 hours a weekand more, and were paid between €2-3 an hour, way below the legal minimum wage and an even smaller fraction of the trade union rate for the work they were engaged in.
For the past several weeks Gama workers have been on strike to secure their entitlements from Gama Construction. They are , of course, perfectly justified in seeking their rights in this manner.
The dispute however has caused further delays in the rehousing programme for many families in the area.
As you know BRL is the public body in charge of the rebuilding of Ballymun. It is a subsidiary of Dublin City Council and claims to operate in the interests of the people of Ballymun.
In public statements over the years BRL officals have assured local residents that all contractors would be bound by the industry agreement between construction empoyers and trade unions.
Although the full scale of the abuses at Gama sites was brought to the attention of the public by statements in Dail Eireann by Joe Higgins TD, it is fair to say that “the dogs in the street” in Ballymun were talking about some of these abuses for many months.
Yet Ballymun Regeneration has washed its hands of any responsibility in this matter.
We in the Ballymun Gama Solidarity Group do not accept this.
As the major public body responsible for awarding contracts for work in Ballymun, BRL has a responsibility to ensure abuses do not take place.]
It is perhaps unsurprising that a company prepared to force its workers to accept €2-3 an hour for 80 hours a week would be able to undercut its competitors with more orthodox employment practises.
But it is very suspicious that those responsible for receiving tenders at BRL failed to question how Gama could undercut their competitors. It is hard to believe that they were not alert to the possibility that Gama were intent on using abusive employment practises.
In any event BRL and Dublin City Council appear to have taken no effective steps to discover the abuses of Gama Construction and they continue to maintain their friendly attitude to that company. Earlier this year in a €15 million deal, a portion of (publicly owned) Poppintree Park was sold to Gama for it to develop privately for its own profit.
We believe that transparency in the face of this scandal is of the utmost importance.
At the very least BRL and DCC should publish the tenders for the contracts awarded to Gama, and the correpondence, minutes and decisions of officials, and tenders of other companies so that the people of Ballymun can see for themselves how this scandal was allowed to happen.
In addition it is impossible for BRL-DCC not to suspend the contracts of Gama Construction until all these matters have been publicly appraised and the workers have received all their entitlements.
Furthermore BRL-DCC must issue a public statement indicating that no contractor who fails to provide proof that wages paid and conditions of employment are fully in accordance with the Industry Agreement between the Construction Employerand the Trade Unions will be allowed continue with existing contracts or be entertained in future contracts.

Yours faithfully

Kevin Wingfield (and others)
(On behalf of Ballymun Gama Solidarity Group)