Canada’s unions are marking the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination by calling on the federal government to protect the rights of marginalized workers and refugees as part of its COVID-19 response. Migrant workers, undocumented people, people living on low-incomes, international students, racialized workers and refugees are particularly vulnerable to the health fallout of the current pandemic, as…

The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) is proud to be working with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to implement a temporary initiative that will help 500 out-of-status construction workers find a pathway to permanent residence that will end the insecure nature of their employment and immigration status. Out-of-status workers are people who have come to Canada with valid temporary residence…

Canada’s unions welcome a new three-year agri-food pilot program which will provide an additional 2,750 permanent residency opportunities for temporary foreign workers engaged in the sector, particularly in the meat industry. The proposed program, announced today by Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen, is open to full-time non-seasonal agricultural migrant workers and will help give them a pathway to permanent residency. “The…

October 7, 2017 will mark the 10th anniversary of the World Day for Decent Work, a day when unions around the world unite in action for decent work. What is “decent work”? Access for all workers to quality jobs, dignity, equality, and safe working conditions. Putting workers at the centre of development and giving them a voice in what they do.…

To mark Human Rights Day, Canada’s unions released a new video to raise awareness of the human rights issues faced by migrant workers in our country. The video tells the story of an agricultural worker who must leave her home and family behind to work long hours in isolated and dangerous conditions – a situation faced by many migrants entering…

On September 19 the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA) tabled their report on the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). Overall, HUMA released a pro-business, pro-employer report with few positive concrete recommendations for Canadian and migrant workers.  “This report recommends expanding the temporary foreign worker program, and making it…

International Domestic Workers Day, June 16, celebrates the 2011 passage of the International Labour Organization’s Convention 189 for Decent Work for Domestic Workers. The Canadian Labour Congress joined with global unions and domestic workers from around the world to champion this international law for domestic workers. The Convention represented an historic step forward towards domestic work being recognized as work…

They come to Canada to fill jobs that employers cannot find Canadians to fill, they work, pay taxes, contribute to CPP and they put back into the local economy.  These are Canada’s Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW). The TFW program has existed for years.  But now the government has announced it will impose a four year limit on the cumulative duration…