Accusations inaccurate, store owner insists

Photo by Whitehorse Star

The NDP has called on the territorial government to conduct an audit of the Yukon Nominee Program after media reports that some workers are being exploited.

CBC radio reported Tuesday that some Filipino workers currently or previously employed at Tags on Fourth Avenue were/are being underpaid.

The report said their contract through the Nominee Program, which allows employers to bring workers to Whitehorse from overseas, stipulated they earn a salary of $13 an hour.

The Tags employees told the CBC they were given paycheques for the amount set out in their contract, but were told to pay back the equivalent of $3 for every hour they worked, leaving them earning a $10-an-hour salary.

They also said they had to repay their airfares from the Philippines, which are normally covered by the employer.

In an interview this morning, Tags owner Preet Sidhu said the complaints and accusations made to the CBC are inaccurate, but he is trying to work with his employees to understand their concerns.

He said he would be willing to work with the program co-ordinators on any further investigations.

Education Minister Scott Kent said today he has asked department staff to reopen the investigation into complaints filed in February by the Tags employees.

The investigation was initially closed without further action because there wasn’t enough evidence to back up the employees’ claims, he said in an interview with the Star this morning.

“Based on the new complaints that surfaced in yesterday’s news story from the CBC, I’ve asked the department to open the file again and open the investigation
and take a second look.

“The most important thing is that we protect the integrity of the Nominee Program, which is designed to protect immigrants while also helping the employers find the workers that they need,” said Kent.

“It’s been tremendously successful, but there are cases like the one mentioned in the recent media report by the CBC that we have to make sure that we look into those type of complaints and conduct a full and fair investigation.”

He won’t be ordering a full audit of the program though, as the NDP has urged.

In a release sent out yesterday, Lois Moorcroft, the NDP critic for the advanced education branch, said “an audit would be an appropriate method to explore where there are deficiencies and come up with recommended changes that benefit all.”

She also called on the minister to outline how his department provides oversight of the program.

Kent said this morning, “(an audit) is not something that’s warranted at this time.”

When a nominee arrives in the Yukon, there’s an interview between the Yukon government, the employer and the nominee during which a contract is signed that sets standards for work schedules, pay, housing, and support services.

Kent said the advanced education branch also does regular monitoring to ensure that employers are in compliance with the terms of the contract.

“It’s an ongoing process that takes place through the department to make sure that the rights of nominees are being protected and of course that the contract is being adhered to.”

Kent was quick to note that the program has had great success in the Yukon.

“I don’t want to lose sight of how successful this program has been for so many employers and of course the nominees themselves in transitioning into the work force here and into Canada.”

Between 2008 and 2011, 590 workers have entered the Yukon through the different streams of the Nominee Program.

Currently, there are 460 nominees, and 342 nominees have become permanent residents since the program began.

“Not only do they provide a tremendous boost to the economy of the territory, I think that we’ve seen an extremely enriched culture here in the Yukon as well from their presence,” said Kent.

“Many of the workers that have come in over the past number of years are in the Filipino community, and I think they’ve really contributed to the culture and vibrancy of the Yukon as a whole.”

In an interview today, Moorcroft said the NDP has been asking questions about the issues brought up in recent media reports regarding the Nominee Program for years.

“We want to know what the wage levels are for the employment sectors that are involved in the Nominee Program, we’ve asked for a breakdown of what employment sectors are employing foreign workers ... how the Department of Education, which is responsible for the program, ensures that workers are paid the appropriate rate and how occupational health and safety, and workers’ compensation board and employment standards rights for foreign workers are communicated to participants,” said Moorcroft.

She asked many of these questions again during debate in the recent legislative sitting, she noted.

Part of the information the Opposition has requested includes the number of complaints the minister has received and how the department has followed up on them, and queries about whether nominees are given information sheets in their first language and how health and safety information is communicated to them.

“I think the minister has failed to respond adequately to date, and I’m still looking for him to respond,” Moorcroft said.

“I would very much like to see (the minister) respond to the needs and provide a public explanation of how the government ensures that workers’ rights under both the Nominee Program and Foreign Workers program are protected; they need to put that on the public record.”