13,000 UNDERPAID.Byline: By MICHAEL McHUGH Michael Hudson McHugh, AC QC, (born 1935) is a former justice of the High Court of Australia; the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy. Judicial Activity THOUSANDS of workers in Northern Ireland Northern Ireland: see Ireland, Northern. Northern Ireland Part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland occupying the northeastern portion of the island of Ireland. Area: 5,461 sq mi (14,144 sq km). Population (2001): 1,685,267. are being paid less than the minimum wage. Statistics from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings showed 13,000 local employees earn less than pounds 4.85 per hour. The deficit affects 1.9 per cent of the workforce, many of them in the hospitality and construction industries. SDLP SDLP (in Northern Ireland) Social Democratic and Labour Party SDLP (Brit) n abbr (Pol) (= Social Democratic and Labour Party) → sozialdemokratische Partei in Nordirland Assemblyman John Dallat said: "Trade unionists have told me there is a sizeable number of people taking home less than pounds 150 per week. "If that is the number of employers unwittingly telling the Government they have broken the law, how many more are finding ways around it?" Meanwhile, the Citizens Advice Bureau published a list of excuses used by employers, including, "They can't speak English". Basil McCrea from the Northern Ireland Manufacturing Focus Group said: "The reason why we scout in places like Latvia is because we can't get the skills here. People with those skills would be paid the standard rate. "I would say the sort of places where this is infringed is in agriculture." |
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