An Irish mushroom grower is facing a compensation bill of more than €350,000 for the ‘flagrantly unfair’ sacking of foreign workers brought in to pick the crop.

In a ruling that will shake the industry, at a time when it has been accused in the Irish parliament of exploiting foreign labour, the Employment Appeals Tribunal has made the award to 13 immigrants who had been previously employed by Kilnaleck Mushrooms, of Crosserlough, County Cavan.

The Kilnaleck owner, Eamonn Murray, claimed the workers had walked off the job, but the tribunal found that they had been dismissed for joining SIPTU, Ireland’s largest trade union, which has been campaigning on the issue of alleged exploitation. In its ruling, delivered last week (Fri), the tribunal said it had decided to make the maximum awards for unfair dismissal, given the circumstances of the case.

It awarded €26,000 - the equivalent of two years’ wages - to each of the 13 pickers who brought an unfair dismissals claim. They were also awarded €1,400 each for holiday pay, €700 each for bank holiday pay and €250 each in lieu of the week’s notice they should have been given.

Originally, a total of 17 had lodged claims, but four did not turn up for the tribunal hearing and could not be contacted, so their case was not pursued. Had it been, it would have added around €100,000 to the compensation total.

In its finding, the tribunal said the workers were brought to Ireland “specifically for mushroom picking”, and had very limited English. “Given that the dismissals were flagrantly unfair, we are of the view that it would be just and equitable, having regard to all the circumstances, to make the maximum awards in all cases.”

SIPTU, in its submission to the tribunal, had argued that the compensation awards should be based on the Irish minimum wage of €7.60 an hour. The tribunal acknowledged that had the minimum wage applied, the pickers would have received four times what they were actually paid, given the number of hours worked.

But it rejected the union plea. “These workers’ financial loss derives from the actual payments they received, which both sides agree was €250 a week,” it said. “Our awards are based on that figure.”

The tribunal found that the workers had left the mushroom farm “in the course of a dispute over work practices”, and were dismissed the following day.

A SIPTU official who met Mr Murray on the issue said he told her they had walked out and left his employment, and that the union should find them jobs. She quoted him as saying: “They’ve got nothing to do with me now, they’re with SIPTU.”

Originally, Murray had denied the men were his employees, claiming they were self-employed contractors, but he did not pursue that argument. He has now to decide whether to pay the compensation award or challenge it by way of judicial review in the Irish High Court. So far he has not indicated what he intends to do.

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