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Migrant workers demand justice after abuse, exploitation in Canada [1]

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Date: 2024-12 

The number of migrant workers in Canada has expanded rapidly in recent years, and many sectors now rely on temporary labour as a source of permanent labour supply. This shift has had a profound impact on workers’ rights, with the UN special envoy calling Canada’s temporary foreign worker programme a “breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery” in a report in August.

Like other countries, Canada’s temporary foreign worker programmes leave migrant workers uniquely vulnerable to abuse, control and exploitation. The temporary and restrictive nature of work permits and visas, and the precarity of the work in sectors like agriculture and food services, mean that job loss and the resulting loss of immigration status is an ever-present threat for most migrant workers.

Canada has made some efforts to acknowledge these issues. It has, for example, introduced an open work permit for workers who are facing abusive or exploitative working conditions. But far more must be done to ensure access to justice for migrant workers. We can start now.

Employer-tied visas leave workers trapped

Like many other destination countries, Canada ties a migrant worker’s authorisation to one employer. This means a worker must obtain a new work permit before changing workplaces, even if they are facing abuse or exploitation at work. Rights groups and labour experts have long recognised the harmful effects of these kinds of rules.

In 2022, the Migrant Workers Centre in Canada surveyed 30 people who had fled abusive and exploitative workplaces. Of them, 29 had experienced financial abuse. This came in the form of unpaid wages, unpaid overtime, excessive hours, forced return of wages to the employer, and extortionate recruitment fees.

Seventy percent of the workers experienced employers who were verbally and psychologically abusive. They had faced verbal insults, threats of deportation, and/or racist and discriminatory remarks. Thirty percent of the workers experienced physical abuse by their employer, and 10% experienced sexual abuse.

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[1] Url: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-trafficking-and-slavery/migrant-workers-demand-justice-after-abuse-exploitation-in-canada-seasonal-workers/

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