ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the various ways in which trade unions in Ireland and the United Kingdom have sought to support migrant workers. Trade unions in the United Kingdom have found that good relationships with NGO's and local community organisations can help them to establish trust and credibility. The government also decided to restrict the labour market access of Romanian and Bulgarian citizens following the further expansion of the European Union (EU) in 2007. While workers from the EU8 member states were ostensibly free to work in the United Kingdom following the expansion of the EU, the government required that they apply to a 'Workers Registration Scheme' (WRS) within one month of taking up a job. Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) joined with much of Irish civil society in arguing that the government's restrictions were punitive and denied EU citizens their rights to support and protection.
