The Unite union has slammed a decision which will see most migrant health care assistants (HCAs) on general employment permits fall below the new national minimum wage of €13.50 per hour which came into effect on 1 January. 

Migrant health care assistants on existing contracts will not benefit from the new government-mandated minimum annual remuneration of €30,000, which also took effect on 1 January but will only apply to those on new contracts. Workers on existing contracts will remain on a salary of just €27,000 – which is also below the threshold for family reunification.

The increase in the government-mandated salary was originally due to take effect in January 2024 but was postponed a year following lobbying by employer groups. Even the €30,000 rate for new health care assistant recruits is still below the current non-European employment permit scheme standard minimum salary of €34,000.

As well as earning less than the family reunification threshold, migrant workers on existing contracts will fall below the new national minimum age (NMW) of €13.50 per hour which also took effect on 1 January.  Workers on the NMW will earn €27,450 - €450 more than migrant HCAs on existing contracts [see note to editors].

Commenting, Unite’s Irish Secretary Susan Fitzgerald said: “Migrant HCAs provide essential care to some of the most vulnerable people in our community, whether in nursing home or home care settings. The incoming government must stop listening to bosses and move immediately to ensure that the increased salary applies to all workers regardless of whether they are on new or existing contracts”.

While the wages of migrant HCAs on existing contracts should see their salary increase to the new NMW – which is a statutory wage floor – they will still earn below the family re-unification threshold and will be paid less than new hires performing the same role.

Unite regional officer Michael O’Brien added: “It is intolerable that government policy is not only suppressing the wages of some of the most vital workers in our community at the behest of business interests, but also creating new wage inequalities and effectively penalising workers on existing contracts.

“Unite have already made a submission to the consultation on minimum annual remuneration. Our position is clear. Increases in salary thresholds should apply across the board to those workers already here as well as new recruits. Furthermore, the discrimination of migrant healthcare assistants compared to other workers on the permit on a considerably higher minimum salary must end and the barriers to family reunification end with it.”