de Brún Calls for Equality for Bulgaria and Romania
Sinn Féin MEP Bairbre de Brún has today welcomed MEPs from new member states Romania
and Bulgaria to their first plenary sitting of the European
Parliament.
The Six County MEP also expressed her concerns regarding the
attitudes
of other Member State to the free movement of migrant workers from
the
new members.
Ms de Brún said that a two tier system was in
operation where 'some
countries have given free access to migrant
workers while others had firmly
closed the doors shut'.
To
date both the British and Irish Governments have announced restrictions
on
workers coming to Ireland and Britain from both Bulgaria and Romania.
Speaking
today from Strasbourg Ms de Brún said:
"I would like to
extend a warm Irish welcome to MEPs from Bulgaria and
Romania here
today at the opening of the first parliamentary session of
2007.
"Sinn
Féin is in favour of the free movement of people across the European
Union.
We recognised that Ireland was amongst just three states to open up
their
labour markets to workers from the new member states in 2004 - and we
welcomed
that, whilst the other 12 states decided to apply certain
restrictions
to the recently joined countries.
"However, a two tier system is
now firmly in operation where some countries
have given free access to
migrant workers while others have firmly slammed
the doors shut. The
European Union has to decide whether or not it is an
area of free
movement for migrant workers or not. We cannot have an EU where
some
new states are admitted on the basis of a second class membership.
"Those
who continue to place restrictions on the free movement of workers,
make
it extremely difficult for those countries that have not placed similar
restrictions
on workers, to sustain their present policy - and this is
regrettable.
What is required is for the European Union to collectively
demonstrate
its support for migrant workers, work to end exploitation and
free
movement across borders.
"Sinn Féin would vigorously oppose any
attempts by the government to treat
Bulgarian and Romanian workers in a
similar manner to non EU workers where
they would be tied to specific
employers through a permit system. Instances
of abuse by unscrupulous
employers, who can effectively hold employees to
ransom, are not a new
phenomenon.
"I want to take this opportunity to call upon the
Government to continue to
advocate the free movement of people at
European level, whilst at the same
time protecting the rights and
conditions of Irish workers." ENDS