Posted: Thursday, 11 December 2008

Temporary foreign workers are starting to see long overdue justice from exploitation and discrimination, thanks to union solidarity and support.

A British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal ruled on December 3 that thirty eight construction workers, brought to Vancouver under the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP), to work on the Canada Line rapid transit tunnel project are owed $2.4 million dollars in back pay and damages because the construction contractors paid them less money to do the same work as others employed on the project.

The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) applauds the efforts of the Construction and Specialized Workers Union (CSWU) Local 1611, the B.C. and Yukon Building Trades Council, and the B.C. Federation of Labour, for their unwavering support for the construction workers who endured exploitation and discrimination in the workplace. The workers took the courageous step of joining the CSWU after the union discovered they were making less than minimum wage.

Since 2006, the TFWP has been expanded to the point where over 200,000 migrant workers are now working in virtually every sector of the economy with no protection. With no meaningful compliance regulations, monitoring or enforcement mechanisms, these workers are vulnerable to discrimination. But the federal government has made it much easier for employers to access these workers and exploit them.

"There are tens of thousands of temporary foreign workers being brought into every province in Canada without adequate protection; however, the recent B.C. Human Rights Tribunal decision which reviewed the case of RAV line construction workers in B.C. established a precedent for the whole country. Federal and provincial governments must now act quickly to ensure these workers' rights are respected by providing full enforcement. " says Ken Georgetti, President of the CLC.

Click here to read the BCYTC media release detailing the case of RAV line workers pursuit for justice

Click here to read the full BC Human Rights Tribunal decision