Eight Zimbabwean care workers have brought claims before Ireland's Workplace Relations Commission against Unity Healthcare Services Ltd, alleging the company collected recruitment fees ranging from €2,000 to €3,600 before failing to provide promised employment. The workers testified that they arrived in County Cavan expecting to staff a care facility that never opened, leaving them without income except for a brief weekly €100 allowance that ceased after three weeks.
Seven workers shared cramped company housing described as extremely cold, with some sleeping in dining areas while surviving on odd cleaning and babysitting jobs. Several complainants reported receiving threats of permit cancellation when they inquired about finding other employers, and delays in obtaining required documentation cost them alternative job opportunities.
Unity Healthcare co-director Bruce Magama attributed the situation to the postponed facility opening but acknowledged that workers failed to secure stable positions through the company. The Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland is representing the workers in their claims for unpaid wages and fee refunds.
Seven workers shared cramped company housing described as extremely cold, with some sleeping in dining areas while surviving on odd cleaning and babysitting jobs. Several complainants reported receiving threats of permit cancellation when they inquired about finding other employers, and delays in obtaining required documentation cost them alternative job opportunities.
Unity Healthcare co-director Bruce Magama attributed the situation to the postponed facility opening but acknowledged that workers failed to secure stable positions through the company. The Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland is representing the workers in their claims for unpaid wages and fee refunds.
