Members of Ireland's construction industry unions are protesting this morning against bogus self-employment.
They are gathering outside the site of the new National Children's Hospital in Dublin.
They want to highlight what they say is the practice of hiring staff that are for all intents and purposes employees, but are treated by bosses as self-employed.
Campaigners say there are big financial gains for employers and serious consequences for the public finances.
"The whole arrangement is bogus. When they should be treated as a PAYE worker, they are being treated as self-employed," said ICTU's Billy Wall.
"Then the State is at a loss to the PRSI payments which has amounted to around €241 million for last year."
Explaining why the National Children's Hospital was chosen as the site for the protest Mr Wall said: "It was discovered at the National Children's Hospital that there was a contractor on it who was paying their workers as self-employed workers.
"These workers were turning up at 8am every morning, they were on a pre-determined wage, they were under the direct control of the foreman so it was determined that they were bogus self-employed and they are now being paid on a PAYE basis.
"The likes of the Children's Hospital were demanding that all workers on the hospital be paid on a PAYE basis."
SIPTU activists and members of other construction industry unions protest at the National Children's Hospital. Picture: RollingNews.ie
