• Français
FacebookTwitterYoutubeInstagram
Find Your Local Union
Subscribe to E-news
 
Login
Contact

UFCW Canada - Union Logo

Canada's Private Sector Union

  • About Our Union
  • Media & News
  • Resources
  • Issues
  • Action Centre
  • Join the Union

UFCW calls for further action to protect migrant workers in new submission to federal government

3.	UFCW Canada submission on occupation-specific work permits
Download

Toronto – July 24, 2019 – In the wake of the federal government’s introduction of open work permits for migrant workers experiencing abuse, UFCW Canada has released a new submission calling on the government to pursue additional reforms that could help strengthen migrant workers’ rights and provide options for permanent residency.

“While the government has made some encouraging progress on protecting migrant workers from abusive employers and creating new opportunities for temporary foreign workers to immigrate to Canada, more work needs to be done to move our economy away from temporary foreign labour and allow migrant workers to stay in Canada,” says Paul Meinema, the national president of UFCW Canada.

To achieve these goals, the UFCW submission recommends that the government introduce occupation-specific work permits to give migrant workers greater labour mobility; create union operated hiring halls that would enable UFCW Canada to work with employers and temporary foreign workers to help fill job openings; and reform our Employment Insurance (EI) system to ensure that migrant workers can access the EI benefits that they pay into.

The eight-page submission also calls on the government to reform our immigration system to reduce Canada’s reliance on foreign labour and allow more migrant and temporary foreign workers to permanently reside and work in Canada.

"Canada desperately needs a more inclusive, protective, and robust immigration system, and an expanded Temporary Foreign Worker Program should never be viewed as a solution to labour challenges in Canada’s agri‐food system,” Meinema continues.

“That is why our union is calling on the federal government to pursue occupation-specific work permits, union operated hiring halls, and immigration and EI reforms that could help protect migrant workers and provide them with a path to permanent residency.”

Full copies of the “Introducing Occupation-Specific Work Permits Under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program” submission can be downloaded here.

UFCW Canada is the country's leading and most progressive union, representing more than 250,000 union members in Canada’s fastest-growing industries, including the Food Retail and Processing, Hospitality, Health Care, Security, Industrial, Agricultural, and Office & Professional sectors.

 
 
  • Media & News
    • News
      • All News
      • Agriculture
      • By the Numbers
      • Campaigns
      • Directions Newsletter
      • Infographics
      • Politics
      • Social Justice
      • Women and Gender Equity
      • Young Workers
      • Health & Safety
    • Media
      • Videos
      • Photo Gallery
      • Posters
    • Subscribe to E-news
  • Join the Union
  • About Our Union
    • About Our Union
      • Find Your Local Union
      • National President
      • National Council
      • Constitution
      • Union History
      • Mission Statement
      • Annual Reports
      • Join UFCW Canada
  • Media & News
    • Media & News
      • News
      • Media
      • Subscribe to E-news
  • Resources
    • Resources
      • Union Training & Scholarships
      • Health & Safety
      • The National Defence Fund
      • Member Discounts
      • Great Canadian Food Products
      • UFCW Canada Equity Grant Program
  • Issues
    • Issues
      • Leukemia Fundraising
      • Political Action
      • Women and Gender Equity
      • Social Justice
      • The Union for Agriculture Workers
      • UFCW Pride – Union Pride!
      • Young Workers
      • Food Justice
      • Global Solidarity
      • Uber Drivers United
      • Conscious Cannabis
  • Action Centre
    • Action Centre
      • Make Truth and Reconciliation a Statutory Holiday
      • Support the Passing of the Bill C-22 and the Canada Disability Benefit
      • Take Action to Protect Farm Workers and Canada’s Food Supply
      • Make Child Care Accessible for all and Protect the Child Care Workforce
      • Stop the Hate! Support an anti-racist COVID-19 recovery
      • Help support justice for First Nations children in Canada
      • Support the expansion of EI benefits
      • Tell Sobeys to protect workers and ditch toxic receipts
      • Save The Beer Store
      • Help close the Gender Wage Gap today
      • #NoMore campaign to end gender-based violence
  • Join the Union
    • Join the Union
      • Why UFCW Canada
      • Union Advantage
      • Union Facts
      • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Everything About Unions
      • Industries We Represent
      • Workplaces We Represent
      • How to Join a Union
      • Join Now

Login

FacebookTwitterYoutubeInstagram

Copyright © 2023 UFCW Canada. All Rights Reserved
United Food and Commercial Workers Union
Canada's private sector union