MEDIA ADVISORY: Labour leaders and migrant worker activists slam Kenney’s mishandling of TFW scandal
Temporary Foreign Worker program must be ended
in a manner that respects the rights of workers
EDMONTON – The moratorium on Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) in the food service sector is a first step towards ending the program, but something needs to be done to help TFWs who are already in the country. These workers are just as much victims of bad public policy as the Canadians who have been displaced by the program.
That’s the message that will be delivered by Alberta’s top labour leader and a leading migrant-workers advocate at a news conference this afternoon.
“The Harper government’s Temporary Foreign Worker program is a train wreck. It should be scrapped and the government should go back to the drawing board,” says Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour. “But thousands and thousands of foreign workers now face the prospect of deportation. Today, we want to present the government with a modest proposal: close off all low-wage streams of the TFW program going forward, but let the workers who are in Canada already stay – but let them stay as permanent residents and citizens as opposed to disposable, exploitable guest workers.”
At the news conference McGowan will explain how closing the low-wage stream of the TFW program will protect Canadian jobs and how granting permanent residency to foreign workers already here will uphold Canadian values.
McGowan will be joined by Marco Luciano, executive director of the migrant workers advocacy group, Migrante, Junniflor Magno, former Temporary Foreign Worker at KFC, as well as a number of Temporary Foreign Workers who will tell stories of mistreatment under the current TFW program and their hopes to stay in Canada as citizens.
When:
1:30 p.m., Thursday, May 15, 2014
Where:
Alberta Federation of Labour offices, #300, 10408 - 124 Street, Edmonton
Who:
Gil McGowan, President, Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL)
Marco Luciano, Executive Director, Migrante
Junniflor Magno, former Temporary Foreign Worker at KFC
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Olav Rokne, Communications Director, Alberta Federation of Labour at 780.289.6528 (cell)
or via e-mail [email protected]
Labour leaders and migrant worker activists slam Kenney’s mishandling of TFW scandal
Temporary Foreign Worker program must be ended in a manner that respects the rights of workers
EDMONTON – The moratorium on Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) in the food service sector is a first step towards ending the program, but something needs to be done to help TFWs who are already in the country.
These workers are just as much victims of bad public policy as the Canadians who have been displaced by the program.
“The Harper government’s Temporary Foreign Worker program is a train wreck. It should be scrapped and the government should go back to the drawing board,” Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan said.
“But thousands and thousands of foreign workers now face the prospect of deportation. Today, we want to present the government with a modest proposal: close off all low-wage streams of the TFW program going forward, and let the workers who are in Canada already stay — but let them stay as permanent residents and citizens as opposed to disposable, exploitable guest workers.”
Closing the low-wage stream of the TFW program will protect Canadian jobs and granting permanent residency to foreign workers already here will uphold Canadian values.
At a press conference on Thursday, McGowan and migrant workers advocacy group Migrante executive director Marco Luciano were joined by former Temporary Foreign Worker Junniflor Magno to discuss the abuses of the Temporary Foreign Worker program.
“This program morally diminishes us as a country by creating a disenfranchised underclass of guest workers,” McGowan said. “The TFW program distorts and degrades the labour market, it puts foreign workers in precarious positions. In the process, it displaces Canadians from jobs and drives down wages for all of us.”
Temporary Foreign Workers don’t have the same rights as Canadian workers because they are here at the pleasure of their employer. Their right to work here is tied to the employer’s Labour Market Opinion and to the work permit that the government issued. The basic problem faced by Temporary Foreign Workers is they don’t have mobility rights. And more importantly, the federal government immigration programs do not allow TFWs in the low-skilled (and some of the skilled) jobs to apply for immigration – at all.
“A worker under the TFW program cannot quit if they don’t get that raise they were promised, but a Canadian worker can,” McGowan said. “Every worker in Canada should have the right to sing that old song: “take this job and shove it.” If they do, only good employers who play by the rules can keep staff and stay in business.”
AFL Statement on Moratorium on Food Service Labour Market Opinions
Letter to Minister Jason Kenney proposing “grandfathering” for TFWs already in the country-
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Olav Rokne, Communications Director, Alberta Federation of Labour at 780.289.6528 (cell)
or via e-mail [email protected]
Problems with TFW program extend beyond food services sector
AFL reveals hundreds of unlawful TFW permits issued by Minister Kenney
EDMONTON – Problems with the Temporary Foreign Worker program are not limited to the food service industry.
An Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) audit of Temporary Foreign Worker permits (Labour Market Opinions (LMOs) uncovered hundreds of instances where the Harper government broke its own rules and allowed TFWs to be paid less than Albertans. This undermines all Canadian workers.
“Minister Kenney has now banned the use of TFWs in food services. But while the food service industry may be the worst offender, it is by no means the only industry that has been using the TFW program to displace Canadians and drive down wages. So targeting food services is not enough,” Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan said. “The government needs to immediately scrap all low-wage streams of the TFW program and put a moratorium on medium and high-skilled streams pending an open and transparent investigation.”
Piecing together hundreds of pages of records obtained through Access to Information, the AFL investigation found hundreds of cases where the Minister for Employment and Social Development, Jason Kenney, issued permits to employers that allowed those employers to pay TFWs less than Albertans.
“There is a clear pattern to this government’s handling of the Temporary Foreign Worker program,” McGowan said. “They’re bending, breaking, circumventing and ignoring the rules they set up to prevent abuse. And because of that, employers in all kinds of sectors are using the program to drive down wages across the country and throughout the economy.”
An employer must – according to Ministry guidelines, pay the prevailing wage rate for the region and the occupation. The permits issued are therefore unlawful. The documents show a pattern of abuse of the program far beyond fast food outlets.
“The abuse of the Temporary Foreign Worker program has only gotten worse since Jason Kenney took over Employment and Social Development Canada,” McGowan said. “Ultimately, he’s the one responsible for these permits. If ministerial responsibility means anything, Jason Kenney has to resign.”
In 2012-13, unlawful permits were found for hotels, gas stations, truck stops, casinos, ski lift operations, convenience stores, greenhouses, industrial farming operations, feedlots, nurseries, and various occupations in restaurants.
The AFL is writing to the federal Auditor General to conduct a full investigation. Given the seriousness of the allegations and the pattern of abuse of the program within Jason Kenney’s ministry, the AFL is examining other avenues for investigation, such as the federal Ethics and Accountability Commissioner.
Notes on the Data
The AFL obtained the prevailing wage rates used to issue Labour Market Opinions to employers who wish to hire a Temporary Foreign Worker. This data is broken down by occupational classification and by region of the province.
We also obtained a list of LMOs given to employers for $0.50 above Alberta’s minimum wage. Several Temporary Foreign Workers may be admitted under one LMO.
Under the regulations, employers may not pay TFWs less than the prevailing wage rate for a specific occupation in a specific region.
For most of the lower-skilled occupations where we find thousands of Temporary Foreign Workers, the prevailing wage rate paid to Albertans is more than $0.50 above minimum wage. In many cases, such as farm workers, the prevailing wage rate paid to Albertans is up to 50 per cent higher than the minimum wage. And yet, employers were given permits to hire TFWs for far less than what they have to pay Alberta workers.
The fact that this is not confined to a few isolated incidents in one industry sector points to a pattern of using TFWs to drive down Canadian wages and an intensification of the pattern since Jason Kenney took over responsibility for the permits.
To date, Canadians have never seen so much evidence of the program being used across the economy to undercut Canadian wages. All previous evidence that this was the case was presented as one bad employer or anecdotal. The AFL’s investigation – by examining thousands of TFW permit records and matching them to prevailing wage rates at the regional level – shows that the Harper government has been complicit in the undermining of Canadian wages.
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Olav Rokne, Communications Director, Alberta Federation of Labour at 780.289.6528 (cell)
or via e-mail [email protected]
Advisory: Problems with TFW program extend beyond food services
AFL reveals hundreds of unlawful TFW permits issued by Minister Kenney
EDMONTON – Problems with the Temporary Foreign Worker program are not limited to the food service industry.
At a press conference at 11 a.m. on Friday, April 25, the Alberta Federation of Labour will unveil research showing that hundreds of Labour Market Opinions – which are required for employers to bring in Temporary Foreign Workers – have been issued in direct contravention of the rules of the program.
"There is a clear pattern to this government's handling of the Temporary Foreign Worker program," Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan said. "They're bending, breaking, circumventing and ignoring the rules they set up to prevent abuse. And because of that, employers in all kinds of sectors are using the program to drive down wages across the country and throughout the economy."
What: New research shows problems with TFW program pervasive across many sectors of the economy
When: 11:00 a.m., Friday, April 25, 2014
Where: Alberta Federation of Labour offices, #300, 10408-124 Street
Who: Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) President Gil McGowan
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Olav Rokne, Communications Director, Alberta Federation of Labour at 780.289.6528 (cell)
or via e-mail [email protected]
AFL Sounds Alarm on Expansion of Child Labour
Jobs Minister floats suggestion to increase scope of jobs that 12-year-olds can be hired into
Edmonton – Alberta's largest worker organization is asking the province to take the expansion of child labour off the table.
Today is the deadline for submissions to the review of the Employment Standards Code launched in March by Jobs Minister Thomas Lukaszuk. The first question that the government asks in its discussion guide for the review has to do with expanding the variety of jobs that 12-14 year olds are permitted to do.
In their written submission to the review, the Alberta Federation of Labour expressed strong opposition to any such expansion.
"Albertans don't want 12-year-olds working in restaurant kitchens. They don't want 13-year-olds working as janitors and handling hazardous cleaning materials," Alberta Federation of Labour president McGowan said. "The fact that this is the first item on Mr. Lukaszuk's Employment Standards agenda shows that he did not hear Albertans the last time his PC government expanded child labour. Albertans rejected it then, and they reject it now."
McGowan added that this "is a very odd way for Lukaszuk to launch a bid for the PC leadership."
"Instead of distancing himself from the bad policy that has characterized the government over the past few years, the Minister seems to be determined to make even more bad policy before he resigns to pursue his leadership aspirations. I guess we'll have to start referring to him as the 'child labour' candidate."
The AFL recommendations on Employment Standards are contained in a detailed analysis of provincial work standards. The Executive Summary is here and the full report is here. The recommendations fall in eight categories:
1) End special permits issued by the Director of Employment Standards. There should be one set of rules for every employer, not exceptions for friends and insiders.
2) End the discrimination against workers with disabilities, farm workers, and domestic workers, and include them in basic Employment Standards protections.
3) Get tough on employers who abuse Temporary Foreign Workers, and make sure employers aren't using the TFW Program to drive down wages and working conditions and displace Albertans from jobs
4) Enforce the rules and get tough on employers that try to cheat the system. Recommendations here are tougher fines, more prosecutions, and on-the-spot administrative penalties (ticketing) for employers who break the rules.
5) Fairness for people who work in the restaurant, retail, and hospitality industries by ending illegal deductions, having a clear law on tips, and ending the two-tier minimum wage.
6) Ending the confusion around stat pay and overtime – clean up the language in the legislation and make our laws consistent with the rest of the country.
7) End – don't expand – child labour in Alberta.
8) Recognize we are all juggling work and family by bringing our parental and maternity leave standards up to the standards in the rest of Canada and expanding the number of leaves employees can take without losing job protection.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Olav Rokne, Communications Director, Alberta Federation of Labour at 780.289.6528 (cell)
or via e-mail [email protected]
PBO debunks worker shortage myth
Exposes bogus rationale for TFW program
Edmonton – There is no significant shortage of workers or skills in Canada, according to a new report from the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO).
In a report released on Tuesday, March 25, the independent officer of parliament showed that employment rates and job vacancy rates were still lower than they had been before the recession of 2008-09. “There is little evidence to suggest a national labour shortage exists in Canada,” the report concludes.
“Lies and exaggerations about the existence of a labour shortage have been used to justify the massive expansion of the Temporary Foreign Worker program (TFWP),” Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan said. “Public policy should be based on facts. If you ignore the facts, you get bad policy that hurts the public interest. That’s what we have with the Harper Government’s Temporary Foreign Worker program.”
The PBO’s report is just the latest report to debunk the notion of a shortage of workers or skills in Canada. Over the past year, former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney, the Institute for Research on Public Policy, the University of Calgary School of Public Policy, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, the University of Alberta Economics Department and Fraser Institute Fellow Herb Emery have all released reports that debunk the labour shortage myth.
“Every year, Canadian employers bring in hundreds of thousands of Temporary Foreign Workers to fill a nonexistent labour shortage,” McGowan said. “And when these marginalized workers get here, they’re paid less than they should be, their rights are ignored, they have little hope of attaining citizenship – and Canadians are put out of work.”
The current Public Budget Officer, Jean-Denis Fréchette, was appointed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in September 2013 to replace Kevin Paige. The mandate of the PBO is to provide independent analysis to Parliament on the state of the nation’s finances, the government’s estimates and trends in the Canadian economy.
“This is the PM’s own guy offering a report that repudiates the justification for this government’s policies,” McGowan said. “Academics, right-wing analysts, progressive economists, government bureaucrats, statisticians – the entire fact-based community agrees that the justification for the Temporary Foreign Worker program is bunk. Even the PM himself has expressed concerns about the program. So why does it still exist?”
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Olav Rokne, Communications Director, Alberta Federation of Labour at 780.289.6528 (cell)
or via e-mail [email protected]