This week, more damning evidence regarding the scandal plagued Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) went public. The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour (SFL) posted details on Facebook and Twitter showing how a Filipino foreign worker was required to compensate a recruitment agency for an entry level placement in the foodservice industry.
Somebody is getting rich off the backs of the Temporary Foreign Workers, and it isn’t them.
This is a scanned copy of a cheque from a Temporary Foreign Worker drawn on the Bank of the Philippine Islands paid to a recruitment agency in the amount of $217,000 Philippine Pesos. (equivalent at the time to $5,000 US).
This cheque was a down payment from the worker to the recruitment agency for placement in a entry level job (food counter attendant) at a fast food joint in a small Saskatchewan city. The total amount paid by the TFW was $6,000 US, and I have a copy of the receipt for the additional $41,270 Philippine Pesos.
According to Saskatchewan’s Foreign Worker Recruitment and Immigration Services Act, “No immigration consultant, foreign worker recruiter or employer shall, directly or indirectly, charge a fee or expense to a foreign worker for employment”. All costs of recruitment, by law, are the responsibility of employers using the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. And while individual recruiters are obligated to hold a valid licence and post a $20,000 financial security in order to provide foreign worker recruiting services to foreign nationals coming to Saskatchewan, there is little certainty that TFWs abroad are aware of such regulations. Nor can it be expected of foreign workers, prior to entering Canada, to know that a list of legitimate agencies is maintained on a government website.
more
Documenting the exploitation of Saskatchewan’s foreign workers | rankandfile.ca
Somebody is getting rich off the backs of the Temporary Foreign Workers, and it isn’t them.
This is a scanned copy of a cheque from a Temporary Foreign Worker drawn on the Bank of the Philippine Islands paid to a recruitment agency in the amount of $217,000 Philippine Pesos. (equivalent at the time to $5,000 US).
This cheque was a down payment from the worker to the recruitment agency for placement in a entry level job (food counter attendant) at a fast food joint in a small Saskatchewan city. The total amount paid by the TFW was $6,000 US, and I have a copy of the receipt for the additional $41,270 Philippine Pesos.
According to Saskatchewan’s Foreign Worker Recruitment and Immigration Services Act, “No immigration consultant, foreign worker recruiter or employer shall, directly or indirectly, charge a fee or expense to a foreign worker for employment”. All costs of recruitment, by law, are the responsibility of employers using the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. And while individual recruiters are obligated to hold a valid licence and post a $20,000 financial security in order to provide foreign worker recruiting services to foreign nationals coming to Saskatchewan, there is little certainty that TFWs abroad are aware of such regulations. Nor can it be expected of foreign workers, prior to entering Canada, to know that a list of legitimate agencies is maintained on a government website.
more
Documenting the exploitation of Saskatchewan’s foreign workers | rankandfile.ca
