The final document of a United Nations special rapporteur who visited Canada last year highlights that an imbalance of power prevents workers from exercising their rights.
The status of the workers depends on the closed work permit which states that the person arriving to work in the country can only do so for a specific employer. If the temporary foreign worker is fired, then he or she can be deported from Canada.
The report highlights that temporary foreign workers are subject to a wide range of abuses and are not always aware of their rights.
The document notes that the government places a large part of the responsibility for informing workers about their rights on the employer, despite the obvious conflict of interest.
Special Rapporteur Tomoya Obokata listed several problems experienced by workers, including wage theft, long working hours with limited breaks, and insufficient access to personal protective equipment. The document also includes allegations of sexual harassment and exploitation, as well as physical, emotional and verbal abuse.
Tomoya Obokata, the UN special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, says Canada’s temporary foreign worker programme creates an unequal relationship between employers and employees.
Photo: UN Human Rights Commission
“Labor migration agreements must end”
Special Rapporteur Obokata also noted that workers have difficulty accessing medical care.
In some cases, employers prevented temporary foreign workers from seeking medical treatment, the report said. Other workers were denied necessary permission. They were also encouraged to take painkillers or home remedies, and were even fired from their jobs.
The document notes that the rules implemented in 2022 require employers to make a reasonable effort to provide workers with access to medical care if they become sick or injured.
She also notes that many employers provide accommodation for their workers, but this can lead to overcrowding, citing cases where 20 to 30 people share a single bathroom.
The report urges Canada to end labour migration arrangements that promote exploitation by creating situations of dependency that tie workers to their employers and in which employers control housing, health care and worker status.
The number of permits under the temporary foreign worker program increased by 88% between 2019 and 2023, although Ottawa recently indicated it planned to reduce that number in the coming years.
Fuente: RC / PC
Adaptation: RCI / R. Valencia
