The Industrial Workers of the World has welcomed recent news released by the Bank of Ireland that migrant workers can for the time access banking.
A spokesperson for the IWW Ireland Branch commented that: "We welcome the recent news that migrant worker's who hold Irish Residency Cards will now be fully accepted by Bank of Ireland from May for those who want to open bank accounts.
"As a grassroots union, the IWW believes that this is one of many deliberate barriers that migrant workers and their families face when accessing their right to work here in Ireland. For ourselves we believe that it is vital that everyone should have immediate and unrestricted right to work with full rights and supports for all those who are currently trapped in the asylum system.
"We fully support migrant workers demands for the immediate access to the labour market, an exemption to work permits such as GNIB/Irish Residency Permit card which can be renewed annually.
"People seeking international protection in Ireland are still denied to apply for a driving licence, which they need to be able to access a car as direct provision centres are located in remote areas with little or no public transport access for work commuting.This is a breach of European law an a clear example of institutional racism."