Photo by Whitehorse Star
Workers plan to explain their mistreatment
Some employers are mistreating foreigners labouring under their charge, says Alex Furlong, president of the Yukon Federation of Labour.
Some employers are mistreating foreigners labouring under their charge, says Alex Furlong, president of the Yukon Federation of Labour.
He promises those making the allegations – here through federal and territorial foreign workers' programs – will tell their stories next week.
"I can't say a whole lot right now,” said Furlong. "But on Tuesday, there'll be a press conference where we'll be laying out the concerns on how some of these workers are being treated.”
Furlong declined to get into specific incidents or employers, answering "all of the above” on the question of what kinds of poor treatment foreign workers have suffered.
Many foreigners coming to work in Canada know little about their rights, said Furlong, and are therefore at the mercy of the businesses that sponsor them.
"The biggest problem is that these workers are tied to an employer; that is how they get there,” Furlong explained of those reluctant to complain.
"With the stroke of a pen, not aware of their rights, they could be released and sent back to the Philippines.”
More than 230 foreigners are working in the Yukon under the federal government's Temporary Foreign Workers Program, which authorizes work terms of between one and two years.
After terms expire, those looking to remain in the territory via permanent resident status or Canadian citizenship, can apply to the Yukon Nominee Program through the Department of Education.
Currently, more than 380 have qualified for the nominee program, which allows them to stay beyond their temporary work permits.
Both programs are aimed at a range of labour, from unskilled to tradespeople and professionals; however, many foreign workers in the Yukon fill a variety of low-paying service sector jobs at fast food and retail outlets.
The Yukon's $8.93/hour minimum wage is not enough to attract applicants and it's rare to find a worker labouring for minimum wage.
Despite coffee shops, stores and restaurants advertising jobs for between $10 and $12 an hour, they continue to have difficulty hiring local staff.
In a territory that currently suffers from 10 per cent unemployment, foreign workers, many from the Philippines, are still necessary to fill job vacancies here.
If local workers took over the labour currently accomplished by foreign workers in the federal and territorial programs, the Yukon's unemployment rate would drop to six per cent.
"You will get no argument from me,” Furlong said when asked if reliance on foreign workers muddies the bigger issue of what constitutes a fair wage in the Yukon.
"It's always been our philosophy that if you increase monetary and benefit packages, you'll get more skilled workers ... and they'll remain loyal.”
Regardless, the labour federation president said better oversight and educating employers of their obligations would likely improve the situation.
"And it's about letting (employees) know what their rights are and having them understand what's acceptable and not acceptable (treatment),” Furlong added.
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Comments (8)
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Whitehorse Business on Jun 15, 2010 at 12:06 am
As an employer who has several employees through the Yukon Nominee Program, I am audited by the Yukon Government to ensure our employees through the foreign worker program are treated properly. This audit includes review of my payroll to validate wages are in line with industry, and they also interview our employees in private explaining the rights these employees have. They also build relationships with the employees in case their is a problem, so the employees know where to go for assistance.
We have both Yukon/Canadian employees and Yukon Nominee Employees at our organization. All of our foreign workers are exceptional, they show up for work on time, are rarely sick, and do an excellent job. Our Yukon/Canadian employees also do the same, but to find good local workers is very difficult. For every keeper, I have had five locals that did not work out. Trying to find a local for the services industry with good references in almost impossible here in the Yukon.
For those of you in this blog harping about wages, if you are willing to pay $20 for a McDonalds hamburger, then yes we can increase our labour wages in the services industry. Most of these jobs are designed for youth not adults with four kids and a mortgage, hence that is why they pay lower wages.
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francias pillman on Jun 14, 2010 at 5:51 pm
Boo hoo. I'm sick and tired of people coming to our country and they are treated better than ones who lived here their whole lives. Awww, they are the only ones that seem to have any rights. A big percentage of all these new immigrants send the majority of their money overseas, taking money out of our economy. Where are you Alex on the rights of everyone else? Or is the non-english speaking employees the only ones that matter? Get a life. Do us a favor and investigate those Chinese help ads that have been in the paper for years. I'm sure that at least a few have come over and filled those jobs, so why are they a permanent fixture in our local newspapers? I guess its ok to commit immigration fraud if you are a minority, but heaven forbid if a white person did that.
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Anon on Jun 12, 2010 at 7:03 am
Its hard to listen to some folks who seem to rarely if ever enter the fray straight on, lest they be sullied by something or lose face with a pale approach as they visibly square off. As in anything else some folks ever enjoin, in every issue, there's something in it for them by entering a given debate. In this instance, it perhaps seems that dear Alex may obliquely be trying to set the stage for organizing or unionizing or something like that, as relates to the industries that immigrants enter in the Yukon.
Courageously speaking, a leader ought to state their case clearly. There's nothing wrong with just doing a leader's job, and as a minimum, a leader must at least step up and speak their piece so folks really know where they stand and what they stand for. To the amazement of some leaders, they will probably be respected for such an approach by some and not by others. This mixed reaction is the ongoing life of grown-ups.
In this instance, the one respectful comment I would offer is, "don't make the snowballs for these innocent immigrants to throw. If you believe in making the snowballs, then just pitch them yourself....stand up and do it, and live with the consequences. They can be standing right there beside you, but if you darn well believe in doing something for them, and you want to be a leader, then doggone it, you have to lead.....and by the way, it could be a costly, courageous proposition, but that's why you're in a leadership role."
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bobby bitman on Jun 11, 2010 at 9:25 am
Great point June! It makes more sense for the working poor to just plain not bother working. The answer in my opinion is to raise the minimum wage, and let the rest of us bloody pay what it costs to pay people fairly. I think $11 an hour would be a good start point for min. wage, and I would hope the employers in small businesses would have the courage to pass those increased costs along rather than trying to absorb them, themselves. Small business owners and private sector workers in those businesses really carry the weight for a lot of over paid people in the territory. We are a region of very, very well paid people with stacked benefits, and with a minority of working poor with few or no benefits. This is just plain wrong.
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bobby bitman on Jun 11, 2010 at 9:22 am
just checked the issue of the Snooze I have beside the wood stove. Sure enough, 14 positions for Chinese restaurant workers. I took the time to search out all the other restaurant workers positions advertised, combined, and it came to 12 positions. (Okay, I don't know exactly how many McDonald's needs but counted them as two. Could be more, and I know that they also use the nominee program because I talked to a guy working there who is staying in a McDonald's rental house with 7 people living there - all employed by McD. McD rents the house and sublets it to all kinds of foreign employees. Hard to find housing I guess.)
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YukonMax on Jun 11, 2010 at 12:29 am
Lets face it, most of these workers are employed in the service industry. The service industry has been sub-standard for many years in the Territory. With it's attitude of exclusivity, it has created a general mistrust and disappointment within the population in general and more so with the communities. Favoring a foreign workforce to replace an underpaid, undertrained and unsupervised Canadian worforce is not the solution.
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bobby bitman on Jun 10, 2010 at 10:19 am
I'd like to know why there are perpetual ads in the two local newspapers advertising for approximately 14, or more, positions in Chinese food establishments in town. These positions call for qualifications such as speaking Cantonese, a culinary degree in Cantonese cooking, etc. In other words, something that no existing Canadian resident is likely to apply for. Next step? Get someone in from another country under the Nominee program.
With all the immigration scams going on, I'd really like to know just how many people are being brought into Whitehorse from China to 'work at Chinese restaurants'. It looks very suspicious to me, and this has been going on for years.
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June Jackson on Jun 10, 2010 at 7:34 am
It's always been our philosophy that if you increase monetary and benefit packages, you'll get more skilled workers"
Well, i sure agree with this.. but, really, they can make 2,400. a month plus clothing allowance, day care, (for job search) furniture allowance, free medical and medicine.. AND get to sleep till noon on Yukon's welfare program.. pretty hard to compete with that I think.