the CanadaVisa Team - 23 July, 2015
New legislation is in effect in the province of Manitoba that seeks to regulate temporary foreign worker recruitment and protect these workers' rights.
Manitoba's Worker Recruitment and Protection Act requires that all foreign worker recruitment agencies be registered and licensed by the province to do so. It also prohibits recruitment agencies from charging fees to foreign workers.
Employers who wish to hire temporary foreign workers must also register with the province and, once registered, will receive direct assistance with recruitment.
The Act requires that both employers and recruitment agencies submit detailed records about the place of employment, the workers' duties and wages, and up-to-date contact information for the worker.
"By keeping a registry of where these workers are, who recruited them, and what they were promised when they were hired, you finally have jurisdiction with the political will and regulations to penalize and weed out employers and recruiters who abuse foreign workers," said Wayne Hanley, national president for the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW Canada).
"Where employers are unable to meet their labour needs locally, we can connect them directly with skilled workers through established international partnerships that are safe and effective," stated Nancy Allan, Manitoba's provincial Labour Minister.
