OPINION
Tinig Migrante
By E. Maestro
Victoria, BC – A group of
Temporary
Foreign
Workers
(TFWs) and their advocates held
a press conference today outside
of the BC Legislature in Victoria
to urge the Government of British
Columbia to enact new legislation
to protect TFWs from abuse
and exploitation by recruiters
and employers in BC. Manitoba
pioneered this kind of legislation
in 2009.
Natalie
Drolet,
Executive
Director of Migrant Workers
Centre, continues to see cases
of migrant workers who have
been exploited by unscrupulous
recruiters, fraudulent immigration
consultants
and
employers.
She says “the going rate being
charged to TFWs by recruiters for
a job in BC is now in the range
of $20,000 - $30,000. This is
unacceptable in BC.”
Until changes are enacted,
violations will continue to
be committed by recruiters
and
fraudulent
immigration
consultants. Kirby Smith, a
lawyer working with TFWs in their
class-action suit against their
recruitment agency and Mac’s
Convenience Stores, says that
the “changes advocated by the
Rising Up campaign are urgently
needed.”
The same situation is echoed
by David Fairey who is Co-
Chair of the BC Employment
Standards Coalition. He says
that the antiquated Employment
Standards Act is totally inadequate
to address the special needs
and protections required for
TFWs, and that the Employment
Standards Branch is inadequately
resourced and lacks the policy
direction needed to give TFWs
basic enforceable rights. The BC
Employment Standards Coalition
has been campaigning for migrant
worker recruitment and protection
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY October 1 - 15, 2018
TFWs and advocates push for legislation to
protect migrant workers
provisions in the
Employment
Standards Act for over 6
years.
Erie
Maestro
from
Migrante BC adds that “it is
appalling that the Province
of British Columbia, which
is the second highest
receiving
province
for
migrant workers in Canada,
has either ignored or
dragged its feet on the
issue of protecting foreign
migrant workers. We hope
that the political situation
is such that BC can now
exercise its political will and
enact legislation similar to
those enacted by six other
provinces, and maybe even
do better.”
In 2017, there were 22,169
new positions approved for
temporary foreign workers
in BC.
The group called on the
provincial
government,
which is back in session this
week, to enact legislation
that provides for licensing
of recruiters together with
a registry for employers
of TFWs to allow greater
control and monitoring by
the provincial government.
The group also called on the
government to implement
a pro-active enforcement
regime
for
violations
and improve access to
information and advocacy
for TFWs.
The Rising Up Against
Unjust Recruitment coalition
is made up of organizations
and individuals including
the
Migrant
Workers
Centre (formerly the West
Coast Domestic Workers
Association), Migrante BC,
BC Employment Standards
Coalition, Red Legal, and
MOSAIC. (Maita Santiago)
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