Canada’s temporary foreign  worker programme:  A discussion of  human rights issues

Canada, like many other developed countries, has implemented a temporary foreign workers’ programme, ostensibly to address temporary labour shortages within its domestic labour market. However, there is growing evidence of the programme being used to meet longer-term labour demands, with low-skilled migrant workers being marginalized into low paying service industry jobs and manual labour in the construction and manufacturing industries. Furthermore, there is evidence of these marginalized workers suffering human rights abuses and economic exploitation. This paper discusses some of these problems and presents a case for legislative reform.

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Gender Differences in Violence and Other Human Rights Abuses Among Migrant Workers on the Thailand–Myanmar Border

Violence Against Women ◽

10.1177/1077801218805587 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 25 (8) ◽

pp. 945-967 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sarah R. Meyer ◽

W. Courtland Robinson ◽

Casey Branchini ◽

Nada Abshir ◽

Aye Aye Mar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gender Differences ◽

Human Rights ◽

Sexual Abuse ◽

Migrant Workers ◽

Current Evidence ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Human Rights Abuses ◽

Key Informant ◽

Quantitative Results ◽

Physical And Sexual Abuse

We describe human rights violations against migrant workers at the Thailand–Myanmar border, and evaluate differences by gender and industry. This mixed methods study pairs key informant interviews ( n = 40) with a cross-sectional quantitative survey of migrant workers from Myanmar ( n = 589) recruited via respondent-driven sampling. Key informants described significant hazards during migration, including deception, theft, and physical and sexual abuse, the latter primarily for women. Quantitative results confirmed prevalent mistreatment and abuse, with significant gender differences, most notably women’s disproportionate burden of sexual abuse. Current evidence on the nature of experiences, and significant differences by gender, can position prevention and response programming.

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Making Temporary Permanent: The Silent Transformation of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program

Just Labour ◽

10.25071/1705-1436.24 ◽

1969 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Jason Foster

Keyword(s):

Labour Market ◽

Foreign Worker ◽

Foreign Workers ◽

Economic Downturn ◽

Documentary Evidence ◽

Short Term ◽

Temporary Foreign Workers ◽

Term Labour

During the mid-2000s the number of temporary foreign workers (TFWs)present in Canada increased dramatically, more thantripling in eight years. Thebulk of the increase was due to an expansion of theTemporary Foreign WorkerProgram (TFWP) to include lower-skilled occupations. The stated reason for theexpansion was to address short-term labour shortages. Contrary to expectations,upon the onset of the economic downturn in 2008, the number of TFWs did notdecrease significantly, and appears to be increasing again in 2010 and 2011. Thispaper tracks the evolution of the TFWP from a stable program designed toaddress short-term labour needs in high-skilled occupations into a broaderlabour market tool. The paper examines the most recent available statistical datafor the TFWP and other documentary evidence to argue the role of the TFWP inCanada’s labour market has quietly shifted, becoming a permanent, large-scalelabour pool for many industries, reminiscent of European migrant workerprograms. The paper also examines the potential labour market implications ofan expanded, entrenched TFWP.

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Documents and Source Material

Journal of Palestine Studies ◽

10.1525/jps.2017.47.1.s5 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 47 (1) ◽

pp. 1-7

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Source Material ◽

Human Rights Abuses ◽

Palestinian Territories ◽

Source Materials ◽

Israeli Occupation

This section comprises JPS summaries and links to international, Arab, Israeli, and U.S. documents and source materials from the quarter spanning 16 May-15 November 2017. Fifty years of Israeli occupation was the focus of reports by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and Oxfam that documented the ongoing human rights abuses in the occupied Palestinian territories. Other notable documents include Israeli NGO Gisha and UNSCO reports on the ten-year Gaza siege, Al Jazeera's interactive timeline of the Nakba, and an exchange of letters between the ACLU and U.S. senators on anti-BDS legislation.

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