The Independent Workers’ Union welcomes the introduction of legislation in New Zealand that specifically makes the non-payment of wages to an employee by their employer a criminal offense that carries criminal sanction. The penalty may include a prison sentence of up to 1 year and/or a $5000 fine, or in any other case a maximum fine of $30000. 

It is long overdue for Ireland to recognise wage theft by employers as a criminal act, no different from any other form of theft. Currently, most employment disputes are handled through the civil system of the Workplace Relations Commission. In practice, this allows employers to repeatedly violate workers’ rights—including the commission of wage theft—without facing real consequences, leaving workers with no option but to file cases with the Commission.

This Union has extensive experience dealing with exploitative employers, a problem that persists across both rural and urban areas. Many employers are well aware that the penalties for violating workers’ rights are not stringent enough—and in some cases, they can even evade accountability through liquidation.

This Union firmly believes that wage theft should be treated as a criminal offense and urges progressive legislators to push for legislation that enforces this.

“Let’s treat employers who rob any and all types of wages from their workers like the immoral thieves they are” said Jamie Murphy, General Secretary of the Independent Workers’ Union. 

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