Zimbabwean healthcare workers awarded €30,000 each after Ireland jobs fail to materialise

Two Zimbabwean healthcare workers have had compensation awards of more than €30,000 each upheld by Ireland’s Labour Court after they were left without the jobs they had been promised.

Tatenda Ncube and Brenda Mubaiwa were among nine Zimbabweans recruited by Dublin-based Unity Healthcare Services to provide care for vulnerable children at a centre in County Cavan.

The workers travelled to Ireland after being promised employment, but said the jobs failed to materialise, leaving them struggling to afford necessities.

They also claimed Unity Healthcare delayed providing letters required under Ireland’s employment permit regulations, making it difficult for them to secure alternative employment.

The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) awarded the nine workers a combined €273,780, with each receiving €30,420. The awards represented twice the wages they said they were owed during the six-month period for which compensation could be claimed.

The WRC described Unity Healthcare’s treatment of the workers as “particularly egregious”.

Unity appealed the decisions to the Labour Court, but its appeals involving Ncube and Mubaiwa were dismissed after the company filed them one day beyond the statutory 42-day deadline.

Unity director Bruce Magama told the court that he had initially believed a firm of solicitors would lodge the appeals on the company’s behalf. However, the company was informed two days before the deadline that the solicitors would not handle the matter.

Magama then tried to lodge the appeals himself but failed to do so within the remaining time. He argued that the circumstances amounted to exceptional circumstances and that the court should extend the deadline.

The court rejected the argument, with Deputy Chair Niamh McGowan ruling that Unity had failed to provide a valid explanation for the delay. The reasons given did not amount to exceptional circumstances that would justify extending the deadline.

The court overturned the award granted to a third worker, Silibaziso Nondo, after finding that she had secured employment with another company a month before the period covered by her complaint. It ruled that her move to another employer had ended her employment relationship with Unity and that the WRC therefore had no jurisdiction to hear her claim.

The remaining six cases brought by Zimbabwean workers against the company were heard at later dates, but decisions have not yet been published.

Unity Healthcare had held a contract with Tusla, Ireland’s child and family agency, to provide emergency care for vulnerable children. The workers said they were informed almost a year after arriving in Ireland that the contract had been cancelled.

During the original proceedings, Unity argued that it had tried to prevent the workers from travelling to Ireland after discovering there would be no work for them. The workers disputed the claim, saying they had contributed towards employment permits and accommodation before travelling and were subsequently left without an income.

The resulting financial hardship was severe, with one worker telling the court there were times when she was left “wondering where you’re going to get your next meal”.

Pretty Ndawo of the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland, which represented the workers alongside DJM Legal, called for stronger protections for migrant workers recruited to Ireland through the employment permit system.