Workers exploited by foreign worker program Abuse leads to lower wages, disinterest in skilled trades
By David Hogben
PHOTO UNDER CC BY-NC 2.0 LISA/FLICKR
occupations.” In construction, it’s even worse, Leighs said. “Looking at the 28 NOCs (National Occupational Classification) for construction trades, 19 of them saw more than 30 per cent of approved TFWs go to B.C. Of those 19, there were 11 where over 50 per cent of approved TFWs went to B.C.” An Ironworker investigation into the temporary foreign workers approved by the federal government between January 2020 and March 2021 revealed some shocking numbers.
COMPANIES ARE HIRING growing numbers of temporary foreign workers, and the problem is worse in B.C. than any other province. “In a lot of ways, B.C. has been the tip of the spear with the over-exploitation of the Temporary Foreign Worker program,” says BC Building Trades interim executive director Brynn Bourke. “We saw this with HD Mining. We saw this with the Canada Line. We saw this with the Golden Ears Bridge.” The situation has become so bad “some employers have built their entire business model around exploiting and using temporary foreign workers,” Bourke said of the growing problem. Ironworkers Local 97 has been at the forefront of a movement to expose the abuse of the Temporary Foreign Worker program in construction, and how B.C. workers in particular have sustained the brunt of the abuse. “B.C. is vastly overrepresented in the number of construction TFWs received in the country,” Ironworkers International organizer Jonathan Leighs said. The Local 97 member has been investigating the numbers of temporary foreign workers approved to work in Canada and B.C. “B.C. gets up to 30 per cent of the TFWs in Canada across all
DURING THAT PERIOD:
95 per cent of the temporary foreign ironworkers approved were destined for B.C. 80 per cent of the temporary foreign electricians were destined for B.C. 80 per cent of the temporary foreign plumbers were destined for B.C. 76 per cent of carpentry contractors and supervisors were destined for B.C. 74 per cent of glaziers were destined for B.C.
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