Amnesty International has urged Canada to reform its Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) due to systemic abuses faced by migrant workers. In a newly released report, it emphasizes issues such as wage theft, excessive work hours, and violence, largely stemming from 'closed' work permits that restrict workers to single employers, creating vulnerability. Many workers remain silent due to fear of retaliation. The report highlights that exploitation is inherent in the TFWP, with calls for reforms to ensure respect for human rights and mitigate modern slavery risks linked with current policies.
Exploitation, discrimination and abuse are integral features, not bugs, of the Temporary Foreign Worker program, Ketty Nivyabandi, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada's English-speaking section, said in a statement.
Cosmetic changes are not enough. Our leaders must implement the reforms required to bring the program in line with Canada's human rights obligations and, ultimately, to respect the rights of workers.
Many of the violations are related to the labourers' closed work permits, which tie them to their employers and leave them open to exploitation, Amnesty said.
A year later, a United Nations special rapporteur said the TFWP schemes make migrant workers vulnerable to contemporary forms of slavery, as they cannot report abuses without fear of deportation.
#migrant-workers #human-rights #exploitation #temporary-foreign-worker-program #amnesty-international
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