A quiet ruling on May 2nd changed Canada’s labour laws
regarding foreign temp-workers. Employers can now pay them 15% less than the average,
going against what Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has stood by for years – which
temp workers were to be paid “the prevailing wage”.
Temporary workers often come to Canada because of the improved
quality of life guaranteed by this country, and an inability to find work
elsewhere. This already leaves them vulnerable to exploitation and abuse as
they will often accept mistreatment in order to keep their job. The changing of
these labour laws only worsens this affect.
There is currently a shortage of skilled labourers in Canada, which is
why we welcome these foreign workers with such open arms, admitting 40% more
than we did 8 years ago.
Though this primarily targets the agricultural business, foreign
temp workers are now found anywhere from the oil rigs, to your local Tim Horton’s,
as a result putting them in direct competition with Canadians seeking employment.
This ruling is detrimental to everyone but the business workers. Canadian
workers will now have a harder time finding a job because employers may look
for workarounds and try to hire temp workers, which may be paid 15% less first.
And temp workers are getting the short end of the stick in terms of equality
and workers’ rights. Others will point
out that because of Canada’s severe labour shortage, this won’t have a noticeable
impact on local workers. For example, Alberta, with a population of 3.8 million,
forecasts a need for 607,000 new workers in the next decade, and expects to
fall 114,000 short.
As a Canadian, I do not support this ruling. Even though this will most likely help the
economy, through allowing business owners to lessen expenditures and hire more
workers, it isn’t right to trade equality rights for monetary gains. We have
long been a country that prided ourselves in equal opportunity and fairness.
Rulings such as this slowly change the way Canada is shaped, slowly developing
a group of 2nd class workers, who aren’t looked upon equally as
others. I am not however against the increasing amounts of foreign workers
being admitted into the country. They
help solve our labour shortages, and we in turn provide them with a better
life. But their desperation to come to
Canada shouldn’t be taken advantage of, and they deserve equal workers’ rights
as Canadian citizens.
Dear Karen :)
ReplyDeleteWell written! You've included many helpful statistics to convey your case to the reader, and the style is very clear and easy to understand.
I completely agree that human rights should not be compromised, and that the Canadian government has a duty to ensure that all workers in Canada are treated fairly, without exploitation. However, just to play the devil's advocate for a moment, is our government obliged to ensure foreigners this same right? The government's true duties lie in protecting the rights of its citizens, not temporary foreigners. Should Canada have to carry such economic burden when it is not obliged to do so? Why must foreigners receive the same privileges as citizens?