[andyt]

The TFW program needs to allow seasonal workers in because we can't fill those jobs. Agriculture and tourism are the big ones. Only need workers during the summer for agriculture, Whistler mostly needs them in the winter. A non-skilled category for these workers makes sense. But employers are abusing the system, hiring TFW workers for permanent jobs because they can't find local workers at the shitty wages they are willing to pay. And they just keep cycling TFW workers thru these permanent jobs. Well, employers are abusing the system with a nod and a wink from the Cons, with fake outrage to investigate when an incident is reported, as if these were isolated incidents.

Meanwhile the TFW workers have started to complain that McD's is treating them like slaves. They have to live in the accommodation provided by McD's, and pay the high rent for it, aren't allowed to move out and find their own accommodation. And of course any TFW that wants to keep his job will make sure not to talk to union reps, won't complain when he's not paid extra for overtime, won't take a sick day even if he infects half the workers and customers, etc. This is an area where unions are doing some good, starting to work to try to organize these people. It's an uphill battle, but good on them for trying.

[Gunnair]

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

PostFactum PostFactum:

Simple law break, why so much noise?

Because it's eroding society. People who want to work, like the ladies in the article, can't because they need to earn enough to make a living. The restaurant owner can use TFWs at lower pay instead.

And it's not just here, for example, a welding company let go a whole crew and replaced them with TFWs, and nothing was done. It's clearly against the law to lay Canadians off and replace them with out of country workers.

And the TFworkers are often treated very poorly on top of it.

Not to mention the mining company out here that wanted to hire a butt load of Chinese miners.

[Gunnair]

andyt andyt:

The TFW program needs to allow seasonal workers in because we can't fill those jobs. Agriculture and tourism are the big ones. Only need workers during the summer for agriculture, Whistler mostly needs them in the winter. A non-skilled category for these workers makes sense. But employers are abusing the system, hiring TFW workers for permanent jobs because they can't find local workers at the shitty wages they are willing to pay. And they just keep cycling TFW workers thru these permanent jobs. Well, employers are abusing the system with a nod and a wink from the Cons, with fake outrage to investigate when an incident is reported, as if these were isolated incidents.

Meanwhile the TFW workers have started to complain that McD's is treating them like slaves. They have to live in the accommodation provided by McD's, and pay the high rent for it, aren't allowed to move out and find their own accommodation. And of course any TFW that wants to keep his job will make sure not to talk to union reps, won't complain when he's not paid extra for overtime, won't take a sick day even if he infects half the workers and customers, etc. This is an area where unions are doing some good, starting to work to try to organize these people. It's an uphill battle, but good on them for trying.

We could...at one time. Fruit crops were picked in the Okanagan not by Mexicans, but by teens and college age Quebecers. It was easier than tree planting.

[andyt]

Did it at 14. spent all my summer's earnings on the girls also working there and the go cart track. My parents were pissed. Also got into the farmer's wine, but that's another story.

As a uni student tho, even in those days, there's no way working in agriculture would have given me the money I needed for the rest of the year. Much better to work in logging/forestry, make good wages and only pay 2.50 a day for room and excellent board. Come back to town with a bundle that way. No way that current students could finance their education with field work.

And it seems the TFW's are also used for forestry work now, paid shit wages and fed rotten chicken. At one time, tree spacing was done mainly by Finnish immigrants who had done it in the army back home. They were machines, made a fortune (60k in 1980 was good money). I did it myself and made out well too. But we keep driving for the lowest dollar, so we have Kenyan TFW's doing the work - wonder if they understand the concept, it's not just about cutting down trees.

[Yogi]

Pizza joint owner: No one was fired to make room for foreign workers 5

QMI Agency

First posted: Wednesday, April 23, 2014 04:53 PM MDT | Updated: Wednesday, April


A Saskatchewan pizza joint owner says he didn't fire anyone to make room for temporary foreign workers.

John Siourounis, owner of Brothers Classic Grill & Pizza in Weyburn, Sask., has taken a lot of heat online since a pair of ex-employees went to the media with their stories.

Sandy Nelson, who worked there for about 28 years, and Shaunna Jennison-Yung, who worked there for 14 years, said they are victims of a "broken" system.

The program is intended to ease labour shortages in quickly developing areas, such as in the oilsands and in oil-rich Weyburn.

"It needs to be revamped," Jennison-Yung said. "There needs to be some tighter regulations. And, of course there is a place for it -- there's no question and I feel for some of the foreign workers that are in the positions that they are in as well. But, it's broken."

In a statement Wednesday, Siourounis said he felt it "necessary" to address the pair's allegations, saying some employees chose to leave the restaurant after it changed its hours of operation.

"The two employees who are choosing to take their case to the media were both offered jobs under the restructured operation. It was entirely their choice to reject our offer of employment and the new structure of their hours of work," he said.

"We would like to be clear that we have not hired any new employees. We have and continue to employ some temporary foreign workers, who are now filling some of the vacated restaurant shifts."

The federal employment ministry has been asked to investigate.

[ShepherdsDog]

$1:

No way that current students could finance their education with field work.

Tuition in Newfoundland is only about $2 600 a year, and Quebec has the second lowest rate after that. Everywhere else no. My eldest managed to get summer job offer at the local detachment guarding......it's technically a casual position but he'll get about 70 hours every two weeks at $18 and hour....anything over 8 hours, which is very common, is time and a half. I made 500 dollars watching the LotR last Friday because no one else would come in

[Gunnair]

andyt andyt:

Did it at 14. spent all my summer's earnings on the girls also working there and the go cart track. My parents were pissed. Also got into the farmer's wine, but that's another story.

As a uni student tho, even in those days, there's no way working in agriculture would have given me the money I needed for the rest of the year. Much better to work in logging/forestry, make good wages and only pay 2.50 a day for room and excellent board. Come back to town with a bundle that way. No way that current students could finance their education with field work.

And it seems the TFW's are also used for forestry work now, paid shit wages and fed rotten chicken. At one time, tree spacing was done mainly by Finnish immigrants who had done it in the army back home. They were machines, made a fortune (60k in 1980 was good money). I did it myself and made out well too. But we keep driving for the lowest dollar, so we have Kenyan TFW's doing the work - wonder if they understand the concept, it's not just about cutting down trees.

Tree planting was once a fairly common summer job - at least I met several when I was at UVIC. It's damned hard work though but it paid very well. Now, are TFW'a being brought in to drive down the cost or is that a side benefit because youths don't don't want to take a job that so hard?

[andyt]

A lot of tree planters were dedicated greenies, they did it not just because they could make a good living at it, but because they believed in it.

Tree planting and spacing (which is what I did) are contracts bid out by the province. Lowest bid will get it. Follow the story of those Kenyans that were not paid, fed rotten chicken and kept virtual prisoners. You just know that the continued downward pressure on bids as shady operators come in is what's driving wages down and makes it not worth it for a Canadian to take those jobs. They're hard, dangerous and you live in isolation. They should be well compensated, otherwise no point doing them.

Young people haven't changed so drastically that the new ones won't take good paying jobs that their elders did. It's that the wages have been pushed downward so much. Same with the trucking industry. The Sikhs moved in, undercut everybody, ran rigs that were totally unsafe, and are now complaining they can't make a buck. When we're not outsourcing jobs to other countries, we're insourcing people from other countries to lower wages here. All the smug people who don't care about this, think their job is safe may one day be in for a rude surprise.

[Yogi]

Gunnair Gunnair:

andyt andyt:

Did it at 14. spent all my summer's earnings on the girls also working there and the go cart track. My parents were pissed. Also got into the farmer's wine, but that's another story.

As a uni student tho, even in those days, there's no way working in agriculture would have given me the money I needed for the rest of the year. Much better to work in logging/forestry, make good wages and only pay 2.50 a day for room and excellent board. Come back to town with a bundle that way. No way that current students could finance their education with field work.

And it seems the TFW's are also used for forestry work now, paid shit wages and fed rotten chicken. At one time, tree spacing was done mainly by Finnish immigrants who had done it in the army back home. They were machines, made a fortune (60k in 1980 was good money). I did it myself and made out well too. But we keep driving for the lowest dollar, so we have Kenyan TFW's doing the work - wonder if they understand the concept, it's not just about cutting down trees.

Tree planting was once a fairly common summer job - at least I met several when I was at UVIC. It's damned hard work though but it paid very well. Now, are TFW'a being brought in to drive down the cost or is that a side benefit because youths don't don't want to take a job that so hard?

When I lived up north-Ft. Nelson- most of the tree-planters were seasonal workers. Plant trees/fight forest fires in the summer and draw pogey all winter.

[bootlegga]

andyt andyt:

Meanwhile the TFW workers have started to complain that McD's is treating them like slaves. They have to live in the accommodation provided by McD's, and pay the high rent for it, aren't allowed to move out and find their own accommodation. And of course any TFW that wants to keep his job will make sure not to talk to union reps, won't complain when he's not paid extra for overtime, won't take a sick day even if he infects half the workers and customers, etc. This is an area where unions are doing some good, starting to work to try to organize these people. It's an uphill battle, but good on them for trying.

Sounds like the conditions lots of English teachers deal with in Asia - I know I left one company in Taiwan that tried to treat me like a slave.

[Brenda]

Yogi Yogi:

Pizza joint owner: No one was fired to make room for foreign workers 5

QMI Agency

First posted: Wednesday, April 23, 2014 04:53 PM MDT | Updated: Wednesday, April


A Saskatchewan pizza joint owner says he didn't fire anyone to make room for temporary foreign workers.

John Siourounis, owner of Brothers Classic Grill & Pizza in Weyburn, Sask., has taken a lot of heat online since a pair of ex-employees went to the media with their stories.

Sandy Nelson, who worked there for about 28 years, and Shaunna Jennison-Yung, who worked there for 14 years, said they are victims of a "broken" system.

The program is intended to ease labour shortages in quickly developing areas, such as in the oilsands and in oil-rich Weyburn.

"It needs to be revamped," Jennison-Yung said. "There needs to be some tighter regulations. And, of course there is a place for it -- there's no question and I feel for some of the foreign workers that are in the positions that they are in as well. But, it's broken."

In a statement Wednesday, Siourounis said he felt it "necessary" to address the pair's allegations, saying some employees chose to leave the restaurant after it changed its hours of operation.

"The two employees who are choosing to take their case to the media were both offered jobs under the restructured operation. It was entirely their choice to reject our offer of employment and the new structure of their hours of work," he said.

"We would like to be clear that we have not hired any new employees. We have and continue to employ some temporary foreign workers, who are now filling some of the vacated restaurant shifts."

The federal employment ministry has been asked to investigate.

Yeah, we know exactly how that works.
They are 'restructuring' their business operations, so they can fire everyone, and then 'offer new employment' at minimum wage. Still being a pizza joint, but now also delivering (or something). Ya know, 'restructured'.
OF COURSE people who worked there for 14, 28 years are bitching and not willing to put up with shit like that.
This owner should not play innocent. (S)He knows damned well that he has been an asshole to his most loyal employees.