Exploitation of foreign workers continues unabated

Events

• Workshop - November 18, 2010 - The TFW Disaster: How the Temporary Foreign Worker Program is impacting Alberta's reputation

Despite the continuing economic crisis, tens of thousands of temporary foreign workers have come to Alberta and many are being exploited and abused.

Those abuses include:

• Payment of exorbitant and illegal fees to brokers for finding employment;
• Job description, wages and other working conditions not matching original promises;
• Not receiving overtime pay and other contraventions of employment standards;
• Expectations of unpaid "extra" work for the employer;
• Sub-standard housing arrangements, often at excessive rents owed to the employer;
• Experience of racism from employer, co-workers and community;
• Threats of deportation from employer; and
• Misleading promises from employers, brokers and government of the possibility of permanent residence and citizenship.

The expansion of Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) is becoming a European-style guest-worker regime, which creates sub-class of workers vulnerable to exploitation who never receive full citizenship rights. This, in turn, can be used by employers to suppress wages and conditions for all workers.

In 2007, The Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) launched a Temporary Foreign Worker Advocate program to give a voice and offer advice to those experiencing problems. The AFL has since released two reports on the status of foreign workers.

Summary

In December, 2008, there were 57,843 temporary foreign workers in Alberta - despite the global economic collapse that struck in the fall of that year - an increase of 55% in one year and a quadrupling of the program in five years.

Foreign workers in Alberta continue to be charged exorbitant, illegal fees by brokers, live under constant threat of deportation and experience racism in the community and workplace. There is still widespread abuse of their rights, including a failure to pay overtime and being charged excessive rents to live in sub-standard housing.

The federal and provincial governments have done little to alleviate conditions for foreign workers. While the Alberta government established an Advisory Office and Hotline and attempted to beef up labour-law enforcement, these measures have been ineffective, due to a lack of adequate funding and mandates that are too restrictive. Despite finding that 60% of restaurants employing foreign workers contravene the Employment Standards Code, little has been done to improve the situation.

At the federal level, most of the recent changes have been made to serve the interests of employers, such as relaxing the requirements for bringing in foreign workers.

The economic meltdown has meant that higher-skilled foreign workers in the construction and energy industries have been laid off in large numbers and, for the most part, have returned home.

However, a contradictory trend has emerged in the retail, food and hospitality sectors. In these industries, the flow of foreign workers into Alberta has continued unabated. More than half the foreign workers in this province are low-skilled and these workers are particularly vulnerable to exploitation.

Indeed, Canada's TFWP program is evolving into a Gastarbeiter - a European-style guest worker program, where a permanent underclass of guest and migrant workers are stuck in the dirtiest jobs, with no hope of getting full citizenship rights. This situation fuels racist tensions and can lead to employers suppressing wages and conditions for all workers.

The AFL has made a number of recommendations to improve the situation, including:

• The TFWP in its current incarnation should be ended immediately;
• All foreign workers currently in Canada with valid work permits should be offered access to permanent residency in Canada, if they choose;
• In future, any labour-market issues should be addressed through a combination of enhanced use of under-represented groups in the labour market (aboriginals, people with disabilities, newcomers, etc.) and through and improved and expanded permanent immigration program; and
• Any future guest-worker program should be limited to two categories - senior and middle-management occupations and professional occupations requiring university degrees - and should require substantial employer proof of labour shortage.

What can you do?

Do you know of temporary foreign workers who are having problems? If so, please send their stories to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it so we can consider them in future policy analysis and for possible future reports.

Meanwhile, the case files being handled by the advocate appointed by the AFL have been transferred to the Edmonton Community Legal Centre (ECLC), a non-profit organization offering legal services to vulnerable populations. The AFL has provided a financial donation to assist in the ECLC's programs. If you are a temporary foreign worker in need of help, or know workers in need of help, please contact the ECLC at www.eclc.ca, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or (780) 702-1725.