Temporary foreign workers and Canadian Mines

http://www.geoffmeggs.ca/2011/10/08/workplace-death-of-two-chinese-tempo...

Thanks mmphosis,

No wonder those poor Chinese workers want to work in Canada although we don't have a spotless record either.

Over 30 miners dead in southwest China coal mine gas leak

Every single miner in Canada, and yes of course that includes Chinese-Canadian miners, should be pounding on the doors of all their political representatives across the country, and demanding that the Canadian work force be hired first, and trained if required, for these jobs.

And a message to all the Filipinos and everyone who is living in Canada and who have underground work experience, and I know there are many of you here in Canada, go see your political representatives and demand that you be hired for these jobs if you want them. Get in a union so you can be organized, and you will get access to these jobs.

I was refering to their pocket book and safety standards, compared to the workers who are working in a unionized work environment at the adjacent mine.

We have already seen this movie before, with the Costa Rican workers being paid $3.77 an hour working on the Canada Line.

How quickly we forget.

kropotkin1951 wrote:

"Those poor Chinese workers"  Could you be less patronizing and demeaning when speaking about working people from another race and culture? 

NorthReport wrote:

We have already seen this movie before, with the Costa Rican workers being paid $3.77 an hour working on the Canada Line.

How quickly we forget.

I presumed that you must be including yourself in this sentience.  How is that a personal attack.  If you meant "They" instead of "We" you should have said so. I can't help it if I take your posts at face value.  Would you prefer I start reading things into them that are not stated instead of believing you mean what you say?

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NorthReport wrote:

Every single miner in Canada, and yes of course that includes Chinese-Canadian miners, should be pounding on the doors of all their political representatives across the country, and demanding that the Canadian work force be hired first, and trained if required, for these jobs.

Every single Canadian who cares aabout stopping global warming should be pounding on the doors of all their political representatives and demanding that the coal be left in the ground, that it be mined by NOBODY. We should be as opposed to Canadian workers mining coal as we are about Chinese temporary foreign workers mining coal. To speak in favour of having Canadian workers mine coal is to speak in favour of allowing our planet to burn. Not acceptable.

It will interesting to see if Raven Coal applies for temporary workers since it is a proposed underground mine and we have been told there are no miners available.  But who mines that coal is the most irrelevant part of the equation because the answer has to be no one.

Denman Opposes Coal wrote:

Consequences

• Sixteen  years of mining, processing, and transporting coal, mere kilometres from Denman Island – 24 hours/day
• Potential noise, light and air pollution; decrease in property values;  B-train coal trucks every 20 min
• Seventeen million tons of waste rock on the mine site, with serious risks to water quality and quantity by Acid Mine Drainage; heavy metals and other toxins hostile to fish, wildlife, habitats and humans
• Risk to the marine environment of Baynes Sound and the $24 million shellfish industry, employing 500+ people
• Uncertainty about the corporation’s liability regime, and  sufficiency of funds to protect the public from costs of accidents and malfunctions during the project, and after decommissioning
• Significant contribution to global Climate Change from the project’s carbon footprint (including 127,500 cubic meters/day of methane emissions) and the export of our carbon ½ way around the world to Asia
• The possibility that more mines (the Bear Project) could be opened in Compliance’s extensive coal rights in the Beaufort range

They are all lying to Canadians. - Harper's government, Clark's government, and HD Mining. From now on just assume, if you haven't already, every single word that comes out of their mouths is a giant lie

These rat governments are complicit in a giant scam here and all Canadians will eventually pay a heavy price in their pocketbook if they are not stopped.

Fortunately the same union that won a 2.5 million dollar settlement for the Costa Rican workers, working on the Canada Line, is now involved again here working on behalf of all Canadians.

When the environmentalists belly up to the bar, and put their money where their mouth is, the way the labour unions do, then they should have a say but not before.

 http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Mandarin+listed+requirement+foreign+wor...

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1299444--judge-orders-release...

NorthReport wrote:

This is pie-in-the-sky.

Look at the envoironmental conference that is presently talking place. It is a waste of time to talk environment unless you have sound economic proposals for alternative employment opportunities to replace the jobs that presently are polluting the planet, and so far at least, no one is hearing any.

Yes I guess to be fair we need to find alternative jobs for the 200 miners they are going to immediately bring in from China.  Strange you say don't believe a word the oil companies and government says and then you repeat one of the biggest lies i.e. that the carbon industries are good job creators.  They are in fact job killers. The Raven mine would ruin some of the best oyster beds on the planet and reduce the tourism industry and replace those jobs with a few mining positions. I for one refuse to give up and just accept that those carbon pushers should be allowed to get their way, to the detriment of both the planet and local communities.

Dec 14 leader post

Federal court turns down union bid over foreign workers injunction
But mark olsen business mgr for the labouers union says the unions still won a partial victory

Ths battle is just beginnng folks

Is it public knowledge that our wonderful Canadian political leaders, harper and clark tried to get the judge to recluse himself but fortunately judge campbell told them to stick it where the sun don't shine!

This case will prove to be a real eye opener about how badly canadian workers are being represented by these useless right-wing governments

Start doing some serious digging and all it will all come out

Do you know there have been several in camera sessions in the courtroom - wtf is that all about!!!

Our mainstream press leaves a lot to be desired here as there is a lot of snowing going on.

Everytime HD Mining opens its mouth it digs itself a deeper hole they are so friggin' arrogant, and have told so many lies they are completely devoid of any credibility - they need to fuck right off out of Canada

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300 Canadians applied for jobs at HD Mining. Not one was hired. That is correct, not a single Canadian was deemed qualified. 

So the Labourers, LIUNA's CSWU, Local 1611 and the Operating Engineers, Local 115 asked to see the resumes - the job applications.

Harper's government says they are unable to force HD Mining to produce the applications. 

Yes, this is the same Harper government that tried to have the judge removed

Sure the fix was not in - give me a break!

Maybe you can fool some of the people, some of the time but.......

Harper Gov't Asks Court to Rule It Powerless on Key Chinese Miner Issue

Feds cry helpless as company refuses to produce proof it adequately sought miners in BC.

http://thetyee.ca/News/2013/01/15/BC-Chinese-Miners-Ruling/

In December, a Federal Court judge ordered the Ministry of Human Resources and Skills Development to hand over all documents related to the permits to the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 114 {THIS IS A TYPO AND SHOULD READ "Local 115"} and the Construction and Specialized Workers Union Local 1611.

The unions contend they need to see the documents HD Mining used in determine there were no Canadians available to work in their mine as part of a case to have a judicial review of the permits conducted.

But some of the documents -- such a resumes of Canadian workers who applied to work at the project -- are still held by HD Mining and the company refuses to give them to the government.

s in court arguing it has no control over the documents, despite sending three letters to the company demanding they be released last month.

Outside of court last week, lawyer for the unions Charles Gordon said if the judge rules the government does not have control over the documents it will set a precedent that leaves HRSDC powerless to enforce its own regulations.

"The shocking part of the federal government's position is that if they don't have control over the documents it means that companies can say they've done things that are necessary for them to get their LMOs without having to show that they did so," said Gordon.

"It means that a company could come in and say, 'Hey, no qualified Canadians applied for this job, but we're not going to show you the resumes that we got and you'll just have to accept that.'"

Gordon said according to regulations, to be granted permits for workers an employer must keep records detailing how it attempted to hire Canadians for two years in case the government has questions about the process.

He insists the government should be flexing its muscle to force the company to give up the documents, even if it means pulling the permits.

------

Labour eyes contempt charge against Minister Finley

The judge's decision on who has control over the documents will be released this week.

If the ruling states the government has control over the documents, the unions could pursue a contempt of court charge against Minister Finley.

British Columbia has seen the use of temporary foreign workers skyrocket in the last decade to almost 70,000 such workers in the province at the end of 2011.

Unions and labour groups have alleged often the workers are paid far less than market wages, and employers can legally pay 15 per cent below average. 

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This is a bogus issue, a red herring, just another diversionary tactic by HD Mining, to deflect an investigation into their unsavory, and perhaps illegal hiring practices, and trust the Globe to focus on it, instead of how Canadian workers are getting the royal shaft here.

Federal minister’s comments at issue in foreign worker case

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/federal-ministers-c...

B.C. mine’s offshore hiring plan sparks conflict

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/marketin...

Will Tories Fix Temp Foreign Worker Program?

Look to Manitoba for 'gold standard' of migrant worker protection, say advocates. Last in a series.

http://thetyee.ca/News/2013/01/10/Fix-Temp-Foreign-Worker-Program/

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Imported Workers Fight Back

How Latin Americans hired to build Canada Line bravely exposed Temporary Foreign Worker Program injustices. Second in a series.

http://thetyee.ca/News/2013/01/08/Imported-Workers-Fight-Back/

Latin Americans who helped build a new transit line in Vancouver for the Winter Olympics of 2010 are some of few Temporary Foreign Worker program participants able to unionize in Canada.

The convenience of the serene new Canada Line SkyTrain in Vancouver transporting cheerful strangers from the airport to downtown painted a pretty picture of Canada as a host of the 2010 Winter Olympics. But the celebration of multiculturalism came at a hefty price: approximately $3.57 per hour.

That was how much two international engineering corporations initially paid the Latin American workers hired to build the Canada Line, according to testimony by some of the labourers who said they received a net average salary of $1,000 USD for their first two months, on 60 to 70-hour work weeks. Crane operator Franklin Mora, from Costa Rica, got paid $1,280 a month for April and May, which amounted to $3.89 per hour.

The Latin Americans performed the same backbreaking work as Europeans on the project, but were paid a fraction of what their counterparts made.

The 36 Latin American construction workers, most of whom were from Costa Rica, the rest from Colombia and Ecuador, specialized in tunnel excavation. They were easily brought in April 2006 through the TFWP, without aLabour Market Opinion, an employment authorization granted by Canada's human resources department to ensure workers are paid prevailing wages. They did not need an LMO as Canada and Costa Rica signed a free trade agreement for "inter-company transferees." The government puts a cap on all other immigration streams, such as permanent residents, refugees and family sponsorships, but the TFWP is not regulated by any quotas. "This is a way to bring in workers who are working at low wages and it gives employers incredible flexibility," says labour lawyer Fay Faraday, who has done extensive research on the program.

'Se hablan Español?'

When Joe Barrett, a former researcher with the BC Trades and Construction Council, got word from Canadian unionized construction workers of how little the Latin Americans' were earning, he paid them a visit. "Se hablan Español?" he called to them through the fences of their worksite. It was "like music to their ears," he recalled. Barrett, a blue-eyed soft-spoken intellectual who taught Spanish before devoting himself to the labour movement, explained their rights to them.

He vehemently disagreed with their meager salaries. "The fact is they're in Canada and they're buying their beers, their cigarettes or any other goods they need in Canadian dollars, not in Costa Rican currency, not in Colombian, or Ecuadorian currency," Barrett says. "I mean just to take a bus in Vancouver is $5 return. Your $1,000 dollars a month isn't going to go very far."

Within less than a month of their arrival, Barrett and a team of organizers had persuaded them to join the Construction and Specialized Workers' Union (CSWU), which is unusually fast, he says -- workers usually take several months or even years to join a union. Threatened by a potential strike, the employers, SNC Lavalin and Italian-based SELI Inc., responded by raising their hourly wage to approximately $10.81 an hour. The union saw this as the company's way to sidestep collective bargaining.

Canada Line train from Vancouver to Richmond that Latin American construction workers helped build. Photo by Deyan Denchev.

Even with a raise, the Latin Americans workers were still being paid 92 per cent less than their European counterparts. They also received inferior food and housing.

While Europeans stayed in luxury condos minutes away from the construction site with a waterside view of False Creek, the Latin Americans, according to court documentation, lived in a run-down motel on Kingsway. And while the Europeans were given $450 worth of pocket money for food, the Latin Americans were forced to eat their lunches and dinners at two restaurants designated by SELI with meal tickets. They were allowed to choose where to have breakfast though -- with $150 per month.

Europeans were also paid $300 extra for miscellaneous expenses while the Latin Americans received around $76.

Perceiving that SELI and SNC Lavalin did not want to negotiate, the union turned to the Labour Relations Board, which told them the matter was out of their hands and encouraged them to fight the discriminatory pay rates, meal plans and housing conditions through the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal. So they did.

The Latin Americans sought equality through an historic human rights case that began in September 2007. SELI based their defense on "international compensation practices," arguing that the Latin Americans wouldn't have made that much in their countries of origin.

Millions kept from workers: union

The workers returned to Costa Rica in March 2008, before the tribunal had issued its ruling. At that point Barrett found that most of the workers had not received the tax refunds owed to them since they did not know about this practice in Canada.

He decided to pay for his own ticket to visit the workers, whom he helped to collect close to $50,000 in tax refunds. Barrett says, "That means that the federal government is sitting on tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars [in tax refunds]. If I can get $50,000 per group of 40 workers, what is it for all of the others who don't know what their rights are?" He also helped two workers who had recently turned 60 collect from their Canadian Pension Plans, which all migrant workers pay into when they work in Canada -- yet most do not know they qualify for it.

On Dec. 3, 2008, the Human Rights Tribunal issued its ruling: there indeed had been discrimination, based on country of origin. It was a first in Canadian history, according to Charles Gordon, one of the lawyers who defended the Latin Americans.

Faces behind the human rights complaint against SELI, SNC Lavalin and SELI-SNC (Left to right): Kevin Blakely, Christopher Misura, Walter Quiros, Douglas Barbosa, Charles Gordon, Anthony Gamboa, Joe Barrett (kneeling). Photo courtesy of Joe Barrett.

The ruling stated that SELI's actual international compensation practices was "to take advantage of the existing disadvantaged position of these workers, who are from poorer countries, and to perpetuate that disadvantage, and to do so while they were living and working within the province of British Columbia."

The tribunal ordered SELI, SNC Lavalin and SELI-SNC to pay each Latin American worker the salary and expense differences compared to the Europeans over their course of employment, and $10,000 each for injury to dignity, feelings and self-respect. The union says that adds up to more than $2.4 million in total.

SELI and SNC Lavalin challenged the decision. Nearly five years later, the case is still going through appeal hearings.

Jose Anselmo Lopez Salguero is one of the workers included in the case. He's a family man in his late fifties, the type who apologizes when he mishears someone speaking accented Spanish. Since 1991, he had worked on SELI projects as a diesel mechanic in Colombia, Hong Kong, Greece, the Philippines, Italy, Lesotho and Costa Rica. "SELI in Canada treated me like a dog," he says, adding that he was a "faithful" worker.

Back in his home country, Costa Rica, he still hopes to see justice served. "All you can do is wait," he says.

Read part one of the series here. Tomorrow: Experts agree the law neglects migrant workers.

People should cease begging for justice at the feet of this vast criminal enterprise and give this shit it's due with a well earned revolution.

NorthReport wrote:

What part of tying a foreign worker's permit to only one employer, instead of to a complete industry, leads to abuse of the foreign workers, does the Harper government not grasp!

He understands it completely.  Do you think Harper actually cares about workers and poverty?

Corporate news certainly doesn't pay much attention because it's good for someone's growth, not necessarily that of their parent corporation right away, but if this outsourcing through importing is the trend, and workers can be obtained on the cheap from anywhere under the flimsiest excuses, then they're sure not to look the latest gift horse in the mouth.  I think the focus on this latest skullduggery by our corporate stooges in politics should be maintained on the crooked dealings itself, and not on the point of origin of workers, or the fact that they come here to make a living to begin with.

Agreed.

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