Video: Temporary foreign workers left vulnerable and exposed to abuse
Title
Video: Temporary foreign workers left vulnerable and exposed to abuse
Subject
Canada
Minorities
Migrant workers
Labour and employment law
Description
The report by CityNews provides a general oversight to a variety of abuses and horrific work place conditions experienced by temporary foreign migrant workers. Although Canada is praised internationally for its immigration system, the report sheds light on this
dark area of immigration that works to mold and shape the type of labour force identity Canada strives for.
dark area of immigration that works to mold and shape the type of labour force identity Canada strives for.
Creator
City News
Source
CityNews.ca
Youtube
News 1130
Publisher
CityNews.ca
Youtube
Date
September, 2016
Rights
(C) CityNews.ca
Standard Youtube Licence
Format
hyperlink
embedded video
Language
English
Type
Moving image
Video Filename
Temporary foreign workers left vulnerable and exposed to abuse
Video Streaming URL
https://youtu.be/YIk4cnPb04s
Video Source
Youtube
Duration
0:03:35
Producer
City News: News 1130
Transcription
0:00imagine working for an abusive employer but not being able to quit migrant
0:04workers are an integral part of our workforce and yet they don't seem to
0:08have the same rights as the rest of us the federal government is getting set to
0:12recommend changes to the temporary foreign workers program next week but
0:16many are wondering if it will be enough to stop what they say is systemic abuse
0:21they take care of our children and our elderly they work on farms and hold down
0:30jobs in our fast food industry temporary foreign workers but there is an ugly
0:36side to the program
0:37experts say it leaves workers vulnerable and exposed to abuse you feel like
0:42anymore
0:44banana yeah Alberto Moreno came here from mexico in $MONTH 2012 to work on an
0:50Ontario farm he slept in a bunker with 24 men who had to share three toilets
0:55and showers
0:56he says he was injured soon after arriving while spraying plants 48 hours
1:02in a greenhouse with a tank on his back
1:04you're looking at video he posted on YouTube tongue has told the acid drop
1:13off with my leg and born my leg
1:17Alberto complaint and was fired getting a new job and then there is the story of
1:22Kristina Torres she came to Canada as a nanny under the living caregiver program
1:27several years ago and says she found a different kind of abuse from a previous
1:32employer when she first arrived you were supposed to work an eight-hour day
1:36yes eight-hour pretty and in reality how many hours did you find you were working
1:40i would end up working 16 hours a day
1:45no overtime migrant workers have become known as invisible disposable labor in
1:51this country and yet they are a pillar of the economy their numbers more than
1:56tripled in canada in 10 years from 100,000 in 2002 to 338,000 in 2012 with
2:05the majority working in ontario the expectation that they talk about it is
2:09real
2:10a Faraday is a labor and human rights lawyer the Ministry of Labour here in
2:14Ontario has over the last couple of years done a number of sweets into
2:19industries were migrant workers are known to be working and they have found
2:24rates of non-compliance with the Employment Standards Act which range
2:28from seventy to eighty percent non-compliance and so when we talk about
2:33this being a systemic problem
2:36it really is deeply entrenched but many are hoping that is about to stop next
2:42week the federal government will reveal recommendations to change the temporary
2:46foreign workers program advocates are calling for an easier path to permanent
2:51status they also want closed work permits eliminated so people aren't tied
2:56to one employer leading them afraid to stand up for their rights for fear of
3:00being fired with nowhere to go
3:02maybe then they say stories like Alberto's won't have to be told anymore
3:08every five minutes it's a guy up in the back pushing you hurry up hurry up
3:14you are so low you're so lazy commands go you want to go back to your country
3:19it's very very hard to deal with
3:23we spoke to Ontario's Labour Minister today Kevin Flynn acknowledge there has
3:27been some abuse by some but not all employers he also said his government
3:31has been working closely with the federal government on this issue
0:04workers are an integral part of our workforce and yet they don't seem to
0:08have the same rights as the rest of us the federal government is getting set to
0:12recommend changes to the temporary foreign workers program next week but
0:16many are wondering if it will be enough to stop what they say is systemic abuse
0:21they take care of our children and our elderly they work on farms and hold down
0:30jobs in our fast food industry temporary foreign workers but there is an ugly
0:36side to the program
0:37experts say it leaves workers vulnerable and exposed to abuse you feel like
0:42anymore
0:44banana yeah Alberto Moreno came here from mexico in $MONTH 2012 to work on an
0:50Ontario farm he slept in a bunker with 24 men who had to share three toilets
0:55and showers
0:56he says he was injured soon after arriving while spraying plants 48 hours
1:02in a greenhouse with a tank on his back
1:04you're looking at video he posted on YouTube tongue has told the acid drop
1:13off with my leg and born my leg
1:17Alberto complaint and was fired getting a new job and then there is the story of
1:22Kristina Torres she came to Canada as a nanny under the living caregiver program
1:27several years ago and says she found a different kind of abuse from a previous
1:32employer when she first arrived you were supposed to work an eight-hour day
1:36yes eight-hour pretty and in reality how many hours did you find you were working
1:40i would end up working 16 hours a day
1:45no overtime migrant workers have become known as invisible disposable labor in
1:51this country and yet they are a pillar of the economy their numbers more than
1:56tripled in canada in 10 years from 100,000 in 2002 to 338,000 in 2012 with
2:05the majority working in ontario the expectation that they talk about it is
2:09real
2:10a Faraday is a labor and human rights lawyer the Ministry of Labour here in
2:14Ontario has over the last couple of years done a number of sweets into
2:19industries were migrant workers are known to be working and they have found
2:24rates of non-compliance with the Employment Standards Act which range
2:28from seventy to eighty percent non-compliance and so when we talk about
2:33this being a systemic problem
2:36it really is deeply entrenched but many are hoping that is about to stop next
2:42week the federal government will reveal recommendations to change the temporary
2:46foreign workers program advocates are calling for an easier path to permanent
2:51status they also want closed work permits eliminated so people aren't tied
2:56to one employer leading them afraid to stand up for their rights for fear of
3:00being fired with nowhere to go
3:02maybe then they say stories like Alberto's won't have to be told anymore
3:08every five minutes it's a guy up in the back pushing you hurry up hurry up
3:14you are so low you're so lazy commands go you want to go back to your country
3:19it's very very hard to deal with
3:23we spoke to Ontario's Labour Minister today Kevin Flynn acknowledge there has
3:27been some abuse by some but not all employers he also said his government
3:31has been working closely with the federal government on this issue
Files
Citation
City News, “Video: Temporary foreign workers left vulnerable and exposed to abuse,” Exhibits, accessed December 22, 2024, https://exhibits.library.utoronto.ca/items/show/2302.