Unions to get their day in court over foreign miners

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Two BC unions have been given the go-ahead to legally challenge the hiring of Chinese workers at a Tumbler Ridge mine.

The unions are hoping to get a hearing date before the middle of next month, when about 80 foreign workers are expected to arrive to work for HD Mining. A little over a dozen Chinese miners are already in the northern BC town.

The International Operating Engineers Union (IOEU) and the Construction and Specialized Workers Union consider it a victory for Canadians.

“On behalf of all Canadians, I think today is a victory because it’s going to put the federal government on notice about how thoroughly it reviews foreign work permit applications. Do they meet the criteria under the Temporary Foreign Worker provision?” explains Brian Cochrane, business manager with IOEU local 115.

Hundreds of workers are due to be brought in by HD Mining. Questions are being raised about why so few Canadians could be found to fill the positions, why the ads for the vacancies apparently offered salaries considerably less than the going rates for the skills being sought, and why the ads allegedly stipulated that Mandarin would be needed.

“It’s imperative that Canadians get the first crack at these job opportunities. These are good jobs in a good sector. I mean, coal mining has been going on across this country for a hundred years,” says Cochrane.

Two weeks ago, the federal government agreed that it had to take a second look at how the Temporary Foreign Worker program was being conducted.

HD Mining, in the meantime, is maintaining that it went to great lengths to try to find Canadians for those jobs.

It says contrary to some allegations, none of the job advertisements said Mandarin was required.

And it says the advertised wage rate for the positions ranged from $25 to $40 an hour and were consistent with the Infomine Benchmark.

The company is also taking issue with a statement made by the human resources minister,  when she declared that the temporary foreign workers program was going to be reviewed.   

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