From the Adrian Dix campaign newsroom:
March 25, 2011
VANCOUVER - Adrian Dix, candidate for Leader of the BC NDP, has committed to new support for temporary foreign workers in BC. Dix’s proposals address a long-standing need facing this group of frequently-exploited employees.
“BC has an obligation to act on the truly unacceptable situations that have been exposed in recent years. We must support this group of workers and move to end the exploitation and abuse. These steps are a start. The key is stat we must provide the same rights and same opportunities in the workplace for all employees – we cannot have groups of ’second-class workers’ ” said Dix.
“I am proposing four immediate actions:
1. Special publicly-funded resource centres for temporary foreign workers in major population centres that would provide basic information and counselling to assist in dealings with employers, landlords, and services such as medicare.
2. Telephone hot-lines to provide similar information to those temporary employees who cannot access the resource centres. (Both of these services are providing in Alberta and have proven to be successful.)
3. Strengthening and enforcing employment standards and regulations to ensure that temporary foreign workers are not victims of unscrupulous employers and contractors. Situations such as the Golden tree planting contracts must be eliminated from BC and that requires strong government action that makes it very clear to all contractors and employers that this type of abuse is subject to ‘zero tolerance’ in BC.
4. Ensuring that labour relations legislation and associated mechanisms do not prevent or impede temporary foreign workers in efforts to organize unions and/or to bargain collectively in a fair manner. Again, I am firm in saying that we cannot tolerate the creation of categories of ‘second-class workers’ in our democratic society. All workers must be able to exercise the same basic workplace rights.”
“This is one more test for Premier Christy Clark in her so-called ‘families first’ efforts. Every temporary foreign worker is part of a family and often those families depend on these workers. If they are denied economic fairness and social justice, those families suffer. these actions are overdue and I will act on them immediately with a new NDP adminsitration. Why won’t she?” said Dix
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Media Contact: Jasmyn Singh 778-789-2395
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