TORONTO, April 10, 2013 /CNW/ - The United Steelworkers (USW) is calling for the resignation of Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, over her mishandling of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.
The recent disclosure that RBC is replacing Canadian employees by outsourcing jobs to temporary foreign workers has created a national firestorm, and prompted a flood of reports that other banks and employers are doing the same thing.
The RBC controversy follows the scandal in British Columbia, where Finley's lack of oversight allowed temporary foreign workers to be hired for mining jobs even though hundreds of Canadian applicants were not even granted interviews.
"Minister Finley no longer has the confidence of the Canadian people that she will protect Canadian jobs and workers," said Ken Neumann, United Steelworkers National Director.
"Nor should Canadians have any confidence that Minister Finley is concerned about protecting foreign workers who are often victimized by the Temporary Foreign Worker Program," Neumann said.
"Clearly, it is time for the minister to resign."
The controversy at RBC has snowballed with thousands of Canadians protesting on blogs, message boards and Facebook. Scores of employees are also pointing out that misuse of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program has become commonplace at their workplaces.
"This has turned into a national scandal and the minister is now in damage control mode instead of taking immediate and meaningful steps to fix the problem," Neumann said.
Use of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program has increased by more than 100% under the Harper government. The USW maintains that corporations and the Harper government are using temporary foreign workers to increase profits and create a permanent, two-tier segment of low-wage, exploited, expendable workers.
"In Canada, everyone must be given a chance for a decent job whether they are Canadian citizens, residents or recent arrivals to our shores," said Neumann.
SOURCE: United Steelworkers (USW)
Ken Neumann, USW National Director, 416-544-5951
Joe Drexler, USW Strategic Campaigns, 416-544-6009, 416-434-7907, [email protected]
Bob Gallagher, USW Communications, 416-544-5966, 416-434-2221, [email protected]
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