Unions protesting over the exclusive use of temporary foreign workers in a BC mine is not racism

It’s no surprise the exclusive use of Chinese temporary workers at a northern BC coal mine ignited a heated debate about foreign investments by China and a fight for Canadian jobs, but the fact it is now being used to fuel flames of racism is a shabby cheap shot at orgainized labour and is insulting to Canadians.

According to a CBC report, Huizhi Li, who works at HD Mining's Murray River project near Tumbler Ridge, and who allegedly penned a letter to the Canadian Human Rights Commission, allegedly says leaflets and the content on a United Steelworkers Union website are likely to create contempt for Chinese people.

And we all believe in Santa Claus!

The crux of Li's argument and his alleged letter to the Commission – written, no less, on HD Mining’s letterhead – says information posted to the union's website is somehow racist because Chinese miners will work for reduced wages and in substandard conditions and denies Canadians opportunity to those jobs.

Mr. Li can allegedly complain all he wants because that is a right in Canada. But no, sir! The argument does not fly. And make no mistake on this one: there is ample evidence to back the statements put out by the Steelworkers. As such, the arguments put forward by all Canadian unions that, quite rightly, are fighting against the use of temporary foreign workers – from any country – has nothing to do with racism. Rather, it has everything to do with the fact that Canadian federal and provincial policies are fundamentally undermining Canadian labour standards and forcing down wages and other gains made by workers over the years.

And these arguments, that are well founded, run deep with Canadians. The use of temporary workers at the Murray River coal mining operation, or anywhere else for that matter, is raising the ire of Canadians unwilling to accept a blatant sell-out of Canadian jobs by our governments.

According to a recent CBC/Nanos survey, for example, sixty-eight per cent of respondents said they "oppose" or "somewhat oppose" allowing temporary foreign workers into the country if there are Canadians looking for work who are qualified for the same jobs. Six per cent were unsure.

What this survey shows is Canadians don’t buy into what’s going on in this country with respect to the use of temporary foreign workers. Yet ironically, the survey results were released Monday, hours after Immigration Minister Jason Kenney unveiled details of a new program intended to speed the arrival to Canada of foreign tradespeople whose skills are allegedly in demand.

Kenney said the Skilled Trades Stream will accept up to 3,000 foreign workers next year, and touted the program as a way to address alleged labour shortages, particularly in remote regions of the country.

Say what you want Kenney, this scribe, along with many others, will argue this expansion of the program is directly linked to another hit on organized labour. And this point cannot be understated. Unions continue to represent workers in an effort to sustain fair wages and benefits for all Canadians. Their efforts need to be both applauded and supported. But it's something Kenny and his ilk don't appreciate.

As well, many others will most likely point out that politicians and their corporate masters have a long history of making attempts to dismiss the relevance of unions, pit workers against each other, while turning the benefits unions have wrought for their workers into resentments from the broader population. This, in turn, has created a struggle between workers and the resulting depression of wages and benefits, causing a race to the bottom and eliminating the effectiveness of worker's advocacy.

As for the exclusive use of temporary foreign workers at the Murray River mine and playing the race card? Well, that just tops the list of assaults and insults. It is nothing short of another thinly veiled attack on labour.

Updates:

Chinese mining firm launches rights complaint, threatens feds with lawsuit

Chinese miners allowed to come to B.C., judge rules

Federal judge denies unions' request for an injunction

　

Reported Elsewhere: Top court asked to settle battle over Tommy Douglas intelligence dossier

By Joan Bryden | Dec 9, 2012

OTTAWA – The Supreme Court of Canada is being asked to settle a seven-year battle to lift the shroud of secrecy over a decades-old intelligence dossier on socialist trailblazer Tommy Douglas.

Jim Bronskill, a reporter with The Canadian Press, is seeking leave to appeal the case to the country’s highest court.

At stake is more than simply gaining access to the intelligence file compiled on the late Douglas, according to Bronskill’s lawyer.

In essence, the top court is being asked to be the final arbiter on whether national security should trump the public’s right to see historical documents. Read full story here.

Reported Elsewhere: Canada Climate Change Policy Ranks Worst In Wealthy World

The Huffington Post Canada  |  By Daniel Tencer

Canada has the worst climate change policy of all wealthy nations, and the fourth-worst among all nations, says a survey from environmental umbrella group Climate Action Network.

The Great White North “still shows no intentions to move forward on climate policy and thereby leave its place as the worst performer of all western countries,” reads the preamble to the Climate Change Performance Index 2013. Read full story here.

FIPPA China and lax immigration policies could be a sellout of Canadian labour

by Bobbie Saga

The Canada-China Investment Protection & Promotion Treaty (FIPPA China), along with changes the Harper Conservatives made to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program earlier this year, may be setting the stage for a migration of Chinese workers into Canada.

An Article within FIPPA China limits the ability of Canadian governments–at any level–to change regulations concerning the importation of Chinese nationals working for Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

"The treaty will constrain the ability of any government in Canada to take a wide range of decisions, including on economic and employment issues," Gus Van Hartan, Osgoode Hall law professor, expert on FIPPA China and outspoken critic of the trade deal, said.

"Article 7(3) would provide a basis for challenges to government decisions in this respect. So too would Articles 4, 5, and 6, although at a more general level than Article 7(3), which focuses on temporary entry of workers."

Article 7(3), along with other provisions of FIPPA China, states that subject to Canadian laws, regulations and policies relating to entry of non-citizens at the time the agreement is signed, Canada shall permit workers employed by any enterprise that is a covered investment. Further, it states that workers may remain temporarily in a capacity that is managerial, executive or that requires specialized knowledge.

Earlier this year, and despite reports of widespread abuse, the Harper Conservatives deregulated the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), which outraged labour and advocacy groups. Two interconnected, back-to-back and behind-closed-door policy decisions were made–deregulating the TFWP and entirely eliminating the Fair Wages Act, which Conservatives said, in both cases, were to get rid of "unnecessary red tape" for Canada’s business community.

"It would require further study to determine whether the employment picture for Canadians will be worsened. However, if the employment picture does worsen, due to federal approvals of temporary Chinese workers who compete with and undercut Canadian workers in any sector, then the treaty will make it difficult for any government other than the federal government, and (depending on the circumstances) possibly the federal government, to change the approvals or other decisions that worsened the employment picture," Van Hartan said.

"A federal review of past approvals, or any provincial or municipal or First Nations decision, that led to a change in the approvals which affected a Chinese-owned company could give rise to an actionable claim by the company for taxpayer compensation. The claim would proceed outside of the Canadian legal system and Canadian courts, and--although it would depend on the circumstances and the decisions of the arbitrators–the claim would carry a reasonable prospect of success based especially on Articles 4, 5, and 6."

 

Canada-China Corporate rights pact could spell trouble for Canadian workers competing with China’s Silent Army

Experts also say that in its growing direct investments in African, South American and Asian resource assets, China relies on an "unemployment export" of blue-collar workers to mitigate internal social tension. Because of a double agenda of access to resources plus Chinese blue-collar workers employment overseas, Chinese SOEs are willing to pay hefty premiums on resource corporations by out-bidding competitors.

Juan Pablo Cardenal, author and investigative journalist based out of Beijing, explains there are two main factors in force that drives China’s foreign investment policy.

"The central government has two drivers–assuring the supply of resources and because China needs to grow (GDP per year) by 8 per cent to grow employment, it’s a domestic decision. We need to employ all those people. They want to go to the source (for raw resources). They don’t want their supply of natural resources disrupted," Cardenal said.

He also says China usually prefers doing business with nations where there are lax or non-existent regulations and laws and cited the Congo as an example. He says he is surprised by recent developments in western countries.

"The law, if there is a law, the decision to allow or not, is always in the hands of the receiving country. The Chinese, they are only interested in how much money they make. The reason they succeed is nobody has the money the Chinese have and they’re going to put in their own conditions," Cardenal said.

"It’s a complete necessity. They use the cultural barrier... And on the other hand, there is a culture of how they work. They know that their labour force is disciplined, that labour force works hard and they’re not going to cause any problems... so those workers won’t be part of labour unions. It’s not uncommon to see it in the developing world. They are happy to go around the laws. What is surprising is countries like Canada and countries like Greenland. China has asked very clearly that you have to allow us to bring in our own labour."

On the Canadian front, the planned use of workers from China at a northern B.C. coal mine sparked a court fight and demands to have the BC government step in to shut down the Murray River mine operation near Tumbler Ridge. Indeed, the B.C. issues that arose last month have fueled flames of controversy, with dueling versions of events and denouncements of Canada’s "broken" immigration system. The dispute also called into question why the Harper Conservatives are siding with the company facing court action, doing a second review when one preceded the Haprer Conservatives deregulation of the TFWP, and why two Conservative ministers’ statements over the issues were conflicted.

The issuing of TFW permits first became a major concern among B.C. labour groups since the United Steelworkers Union found advertisements placed by HD Mining Ltd. preferring those applicants who have knowledge of the Mandarin language. Despite claims by laobur that Canadians applied for the positions, 201 TFW permits were granted for what labour groups say is to be the first of several thousand positions for the company’s Murray River project. It was later reported the ads in which Mandarin was preferred were placed by "mistake."

Meanwhile, opposition to FIPPA China continues to mount as critics hammer the Harper Conservatives in an effort to delay the agreement's ratification. The federal government was in a position to ratify the agreement November 1 through an order-in-council, but it has yet to do so.

For additional information see TFWP Backgrounder

Reported Elsewhere: B.C. backs off on flu-shot policy for nurses

Union declares victory in dispute; government suggests it's a 1-year reprieve

CBC News Posted: Nov 30, 2012 9:00 PM PT

The union representing B.C.'s nurses says members won't be forced to wear masks and stickers if they're not vaccinated against the flu.

The province's health officer Dr. Perry Kendall announced the policy in August, arguing low vaccination rates among health professionals were putting patients at risk.

But the British Columbia Nurses Union says the provincial government has backed off on the policy following a "strong public campaign" by members

Reported Elsewhere: Human rights museum staff leave amid interference allegations

CEO denies any political interference in content of Winnipeg-based museum

CBC News Posted: Nov 30, 2012 10:47 AM CST

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg has not yet opened, but there has already been an exodus of employees, amid allegations of indecision and political interference on the part of management and the board of trustees, CBC News has learned.

BC Fed delegates call for a moratorium on Temporary Foreign Worker Program

Update: Nov. 29, 2012, 4:36 pm

By Bobbie Saga

The BC Federation of Labour (BCFL) is stepping up pressure on the Harper Conservatives to not only conduct a full, open, and transparent review of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), but also place a moratorium on the program until a comprehensive investigation is conducted.

The move to increase pressure on the federal government came during this week’s BC Federation of Labour "Together for a Better BC" convention held in Vancouver. Delegates passed an emergency resolution Wednesday that includes calling for a moratorium on the program until a comprehensive review is conducted.

This latest move by labour groups follows the federal government recently launching an investigation into the use of foreign workers at a coal mine in northern BC.

Jim Sinclair, BCFL President, says the investigation is welcome because the program is being abused and jobs being offered to foreign labour are not temporary in nature. Sinclair also says although he is "cautiously optimistic" about the review, he is concerned about the government investigating itself.

"We're cautiously optimistic but frankly worried that it's only the government investigating itself, and we'd prefer to have an independent review," says Sinclair.

 
Others, however, are not convinced change is on the way for the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, or as generous in their comments about the investigation.

Gil McGowan, Alberta Federation of Labour President, says the Harper Conservatives "created a monster" when it relaxed requirements for companies to prove foreign workers were needed. And he says the same people that "messed up" the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, "can't be trusted to fix it."

"They no longer have to keep records of Canadians that have applied." McGowan says.

"They no longer have to explain why the Canadians were not picked. All they have to do is post an on-line ad, and they don't have to demonstrate that Canadians have actually applied or not."

McGowan adds the program has expanded to cover menial labour and other jobs. And, he says, because workers are sent home after four years, "the program has created an exploited, disposable workforce."

As well, the BC Public Interest Advocacy Centre (BCPIAC) launched a complaint earlier this month with the BC Human Rights Tribunal on behalf of four temporary foreign workers from Mexico employed at two Tim Hortons locations in Dawson Creek, BC.

Living two to a room, in a five bedroom home, workers were asked to pay $200.00 each at the beginning of the month, and then asked by the employer for an additional $200.00 rent mid-month, which their employer allegedly referred to as a "tip."

"When Tim Hortons advertises the Double Double, I don’t believe this is what most Canadians had in mind," Eugene Kung, counsel with BCPIAC, said when the complaint was filed.

The complaint alleges that in total the employer received $4,000 a month in rent from each of two separate homes where he required his employees to live. In addition to overcharging workers for rent, the complaint asserts the workers were subjected to derogatory racist comments including "[expletive] Mexican workers are lazy" and "Mexican idiots," while the employer described himself as the "owner of their lives."

"When these workers raised any concerns about their working or living conditions, the employer threatened to send them back to Mexico," said Kung.

It is also alledged the employer regularly asked the workers from Mexico for their passports, would hold them for periods of time, and that two of the workers were fired after they complained about their working conditions, while others were forced to leave for fear of reprisals.

"These workers were left vulnerable to a flawed program where the power dynamic benefits the employer and creates a ripe situation for the exploitation of the workers," Kung added.

The next day, Tim Hortons spokeswoman Alexandra Cygal said the company learned about the allegations in the complaint just prior to it being submitted, but that Van Den Bosch, the owner/operator, has not been with the chain since July 2012.

She says the company doesn't condone any of the behaviours or allegations made in the complaint.

More information on abuses with the TFWP:

Alberta Federation Takes On Advocacy Work For TFWs

In response to growing concerns, the Alberta Federation of Labour launches a Temporary Foreign Worker Advocate program to offer free services to TFWs needing assistance with work-related problems. The Advocate was launched in April 2007, with Edmonton lawyer Yessy Byl serving as the Advocate.

The Advocate releases findings after six months of assisting TFWs in a report called Temporary Foreign Workers – Alberta’s disposable workforce. The report covers the Advocate’s activities until October 31, 2007.

Then in April 2009, The Advocate releases a second report called Entrenching Exploitation, which highlights the re-occurring issues found in the Advocate’s casework. The report documents significant employer abuses and exploitation of foreign workers, plus highlights serious shortcomings of the TFWP advocate's caseload while serving as a volunteer lawyer and advisor to the program.

Alberta Federation of Labour Backgrounder: Temporary Foreign Worker Program

Low Wage Agenda
In April 2012, the Conservative government made changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program by introducing an Accelerated Labour Market Opinion (ALMO) stream for higher‐skilled foreign workers. The ALMO stream is clearly designed to drive down wages: employers can pay workers under the TFW Program up to 15 per cent less than Canadian workers [Link to news release and technical background document].

Canadians Shut Out of Hiring
Under the ALMO stream, employers do not have to consider hiring Canadians first before turning to the TFW Program for foreign labour.

Lax Oversight
Under the ALMO stream, fewer than 20 per cent of successful applications are subject to a compliance review.

Widespread Violations
In 2010, the Alberta NDP uncovered Alberta government documents showing that 74 per cent of employers with workers under the TFW Program were in violation of the Alberta Labour Code [Link to Alberta NDP Opposition news release].

Secret Consultations
The review that led to the April changes to TFW rules was conducted behind closed doors, with no input from the public. Only employers were invited to participate. The AFL and other groups asked to make submissions, but were refused.

Bogus Labour Shortage
The Alberta Federation of Labour has shown that the Alberta government’s claims of a catastrophic "labour shortage" are not credible and overblown [Link to AFL news release].

Many New Jobs Going to Foreign Workers
Jim Stanford, Chief Economist for the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW), found that nearly 30 per cent of new jobs in Canada were filled by workers under the TFW Program [Linl to Stanford’s work].

Alberta #1 Destination for Workers under the TFW Program
In 2011, Alberta employers were approved to bring in 50,840 workers under the TFW Program, the most in the country (Ontario was second with 47,635) [Link to federal government statistics].