Document Details

2010-03-17

Laura Tupper

CTV News

The Alberta NDP is demanding the creation of a policy it's dubbing "good enough to work here, good enough to live here" as it released some disturbing documents related to the treatment of foreign workers in this province.

The documents, from the Employment Standards Branch, were obtained by the NDP through a freedom of information request. The documents include the number of complaints filed by temporary foreign workers against their employers over the last three years.

NDP MLA Rachel Notley says the records show 74 per cent of businesses are in violation of the province's labour code. That's up from 56 per cent recorded a year earlier.

Notley says more than half those violations relate to failure to pay overtime wages, statutory holiday wages and vacation pay.

"These are not minor paperwork problems," complained Notley. "These violations are substantial and they hurt workers and their families."

But Thomas Lukaszuk, the Minister of Employment and Immigration, has a different take on the situation.

"The good news is that 74 per cent of claims are valid," said Lukaszuk. "That means our education is getting across that these workers know that there is something wrong and that they can report it."

Many foreign workers take jobs in Alberta with the intention of sending most of their income back to their families in their home countries.

The NDP is calling for the cancellation of the temporary foreign worker program and the

introduction of a new policy that would allow such workers to immigrate.

Notley is suggesting a couple of strategies to reduce the number of labour code violations; namely increasing the number of worksite inspections and better education for employers and workers

The province says there are no plans to abolish the temporary foreign worker program.

"It's been a very important program for Alberta's economy," said Lucaszuk, adding that there is still a shortage of employees in some sectors of the workforce.

"If we have a shortage of workers, it doesn't mean you bring them in only for two years, treat them like second class citizens and boot them out at the end of two years," countered Notley.

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  NDP demands better treatment of temporary foreign workers (http://edmonton.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100317/edm_foreign_100317/20100317/?hub=EdmontonHome)
  

Agriculture and horticulture workers, Occupations in services - Domestic work, Sales and service occupations - general, Trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations - general, Natural resources, agriculture and related production occupations - general, Labourers in food, beverage and associated products processing, Dancers, and Other

Policy analysis

Public awareness

Alberta

English