If indeed this is the case, the provincial government ought to be taking a very close look to be sure Saskatchewan's own residents aren't being short changed in the quest to fill jobs and welcome newcomers.
While we want to be welcoming and also be of assistance to employers finding it difficult to fill positions, we can't do so at the cost of hard working, dedicated, local employees.
The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour (SFL) has reported it recently met with two Weyburn women who claim they were fired from their long-time jobs in order to make room for temporary foreign workers. Shaunna Jennison-Yung and Sandra Nelson were both fired from their positions as servers at the Weyburn Travelodge after a combined 42 years of service. "We are extremely concerned to hear, contrary to our governments' misguided assurances, that abuse of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program continues to occur in our province," comments Saskatchewan Federation of Labour President, Larry Hubich. "Ms. Jennison-Yung and Ms. Nelson's stories are very troubling, but unfortunately not uncommon. The Temporary Foreign Worker Program has become nothing more than a tool for employers to exploit migrant working people and to pursue a low-wage agenda."
Jennison-Yung and Nelson, who worked in the restaurant for 14 and 28 years respectively, were first notified in early March, along with other fulltime staff members, that they were being terminated as a "cost-cutting measure." The Weyburn Travelodge is now staffed almost entirely by temporary foreign workers.
If this situation is truly unfolding as it appears, this is just plain wrong and unacceptable.
"The Temporary Foreign Worker Program was originally intended as a way to access highly-specialized, highly-skilled working people that are not available in Canada. What it has become is a first resort for employers that are willing to exploit migrant working people as cheap labour, and it should be eliminated. The Federal governments' recent 'tinkering' with the program has done nothing to reduce the abuse," claims the SFL.
We need to do some close examining of this program and if need be, a complete overhaul. Fair is fair after all.
