Alberta labour leaders are concerned the federal government is considering reviving a foreign-workers program that it says displaces Canadian workers and drives down wages.
Launched in April 2012 to help employers quickly fill vacancies for skilled workers, the program was suspended a little over a year later after it was discovered that it was being used to fast-track applications for low-paying, entry-level jobs.
The initiative allowed companies to pay foreign workers 15-per-cent less than prevailing regional wages and eliminated regulations that allowed employers to bypass Canadians for vacant jobs.
“This was a fast-track system that was grossly abused and should not be reintroduced in any way, shape or form,” Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, said Friday. “It didn’t work a year ago, and we feel very strongly that it won’t work now.”
Earlier this month Canada Employment Minister Jason Kenney mused that a modified version of the plan could be resurrected, and there have been discussions in Ottawa about bringing it back.
“We need to stop the reintroduction of this program before it happens, rather than to have to deal with the fallout,” McGowan said. “It boggles my mind that the government is even talking about it.”
Using information obtained through an access to information request, the federation released a report on Friday that showed that 10 randomly selected employers in Alberta and one in Newfoundland that used the program were paying below the market rate.
Applications for low-wage, entry-level positions were being fast-tracked by categorizing them as managers.
The study revealed that one fast-food restaurant in Edmonton was approved to hire 15 “food service supervisors” at one location at $11.75 per hour, below the regional median wage of $13 per hour.
“The applications would be laughable if the program wasn’t such a tragedy for workers,” McGowan said.
He said the federation is renewing calls for an investigation of the program. After suspending the initiative, the federal government never explained what went wrong or if employers found to be abusing the system had been disciplined.
“At the very least, the government owes Canadians an explanation of what went wrong in the first place,” McGowan said. “If they are going to reintroduce the program, they need to provide assurances that there won’t be a repeat of the same problems we had before.”
Labour union blasts suggestion foreign-worker program may be revived
