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A Canadian flag waves beside McDonalds fast food restaurant in Toronto, May 1, 2014. Canada's foreign worker's program has expanded to lower-skilled jobs, especially at restaurant chains such as McDonald's Corp and Tim Hortons Inc.
Is there “slavery” in Canada?
Another week, another black eye for Justin Trudeau’s increasingly unpopular immigration policy. This time the punch came from the United Nations, which released a scathing report alleging that Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program is a “breeding ground for contemporary slavery.”
The program — which the Liberals have greatly expanded to fill pandemic-related job vacancies — allows foreigners to work temporarily in Canada in industries like agriculture, fisheries, and food service, often for low wages.
But the UN says the program makes workers vulnerable to abuse, since they can be deported if they are fired. The minister responsible for the program, Marc Miller, has acknowledged the need for reforms.
Immigration has historically not been a hot-button political issue in Canada, where there’s been a nonpartisan consensus about its societal and economic benefits. But the Liberals’ massive expansion of immigrant visas in recent years has contributed to a housing shortage, while economists say the temporary worker programs suppress wages for Canadians. As a result, the pro-immigration consensus has collapsed.Miller has been scrambling to make fixes to the system, but so far the Conservatives are making hay out of a popular demand to slow immigration. The Liberals, meanwhile, may be wary of cutting immigration too swiftly, for fear of the economic fallout and potential blowback from some in ethnic communities they rely on at the ballot box.
Workers at iPhone plant in India riot over wages
BANGALORE • The authorities have vowed to crack down on workers who went on a violent rampage at a Taiwanese-run iPhone factory in southern India over allegations of unpaid wages and exploitation, with 100 people arrested so far.
Workers riot at India iPhone factory over exploitation claims
About 100 people have been arrested so far.
Worker dormitories in Selangor placed under strict lockdown after Covid-19 surge
KUALA LUMPUR - The worker dormitories of top Malaysian rubber glove maker Top Glove in Selangor has been placed under a strict lockdown after cases of Covid-19 infections surged, said Senior Minister (Security) Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Monday (Nov 16).
Workaholic Shenzhen mandates paid leave - first city in China to do so
SHENZHEN • The technology hub of Shenzhen, notorious for its long work hours, will become China's first city to require that workers take paid leave, a move to help reduce burnout that may be replicated in other parts of the country.
Workaholic Shenzhen city makes leave time mandatory in first for China
SHENZHEN (REUTERS) - The southern Chinese technology hub of Shenzhen, notorious for its long work hours, will become China's first city to require that workers take paid leave, a move to help reduce burnout that may be replicated in other parts of the country.
Indonesian unions vow mass protests if president signs jobs law
Unions and rights groups say the new law favours business over workers and the environment.
Jokowi gets final draft of labour Bill from Parliament
The Indonesian Parliament handed over to President Joko Widodo yesterday the final draft of a new labour Bill that has triggered days of violent street protests and vandalism throughout the world's third largest democracy.