April 23, 2008

Temporary Foreign Workers

Manitoba program to improve conditions for temporary foreign workers lacks teeth, labour says

RICHARD GILBERT

staff writer

The federal government and the province of Manitoba have launched a new initiative to improve working conditions for Temporary Foreign Workers, but there are no mechanisms in place to monitor or enforce the program.

The Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Monte Solberg and the Manitoba Minister of Labour and Immigration Nancy Allan announced on April 11 that they are working together to develop a Letter of Understanding (LOU) that will strengthen protections for Temporary Foreign Workers.

These protections include safe working conditions and fulfilling terms of employment.

“Temporary foreign workers help Manitoba’s economy grow and succeed and many more are entering our province every year,” said Allan.

“By developing this LOU, both our levels of government are demonstrating that we can work together to protect the rights of temporary foreign workers and Manitoba will soon introduce legislation to regulate recruiters of these workers.”

The 2007 Federal Budget committed an additional $50.5 million over two years to the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program to reduce processing delays, and respond more effectively to regional labour and skill shortages.

These investments aim to facilitate the entry of foreign workers, while at the same time helping to ensure that proper measures are in place to protect them.

The federal government acknowledges that TFWs play an important role in addressing labour shortages in Canada.

Every year, Canadian employers hire thousands of foreign workers to help address their labour shortages.

“It is important, then, that all of these foreign workers be guaranteed safe working conditions and the fulfillment of employment contracts,” said Solberg.

The Manitoba Federation of Labour (MFL) released a report last month that is critical of how well the federal government is taking care of TFWs.

“What the federal government has not done is take care of workers affected by this program,” stated the report, which was presented to the Manitoba Ministry of Labour and Immigration as part of their review of the Employment Services Act.

“There is a dearth of effective compliance, monitoring and enforcement mechanisms to ensure that Canadian employers respect the rights of the guest workers they invite into the country, as well as the rights of any Canadian workers they may displace.”

According to the federation of labour, the Temporary Foreign Worker program contains many flaws, such as unscrupulous labour brokers, false promises about wages and working conditions, exploitation, intimidation, social isolation and separation, racism and discrimination.

The report recommends that the immigration system should be reformed to make permanent immigration more accessible and efficient.

It goes on to state that Canadian employers should use a range of options to meet their current labour needs.

This includes the training of existing Canadian workers, employment of under-represented groups in the labour market (Aboriginals, people with disabilities and permanent residents) and permanent immigration.

The report also recommends that Manitoba implements an active enforcement regime for TFWs, which establishes a team of Employment Standards, WCB and occupational health and safety officers, dedicated to issues dealing with Temporary Foreign Workers.

The team should utilize a more pro-active enforcement model for investigations, unannounced audits and preventative inspections.

At a news conference in November 2007, Manitoba Labour and Immigration Minister Nancy Allen announced that the NDP government intended to introduce amendments to the Employment Services Act to regulate both the modelling industry and Temporary Foreign Workers.

The new amendments will be introduced this spring following consultations with stakeholders, including labour.

“I commend the Manitoba government for being the first in Canada to support these most vulnerable workers with this type of legislation,” said MFL president Darlene Dziewit upon hearing about the proposed legislation.

“It is overdue. I can only hope other provincial governments will follow suit.”

There are very few laws on the books in Canada to protect child models and Temporary Foreign Workers.”

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