Are temporary foreign workers really needed in our fast food industry?

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Are temporary foreign workers really needed in our fast food industry?

The president of the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association is taking issue with the premier over the use of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

Earlier this week, Premier Christy Clark said the program shouldn’t be used to fill jobs in fast food outlets in urban areas, where there are plenty of locals to fill those positions.

But Ian Tostenson insists it’s not easy filling those jobs.

“We do have access to more workers in urban areas. We have access, for example, to university students. But quite frankly, the problem is, a lot of students don’t want those entry-level jobs. The jobs don’t appeal to them.”

Wages are low in the fast food industry, but Tostenson doesn’t believe restaurant owners are willing to increase wages to lure Canadians.

“How much do you pay a worker with no experience? We are talking entry-level. Business owners are investing to train that person.”

He reminds the premier that those outlets are entering the program as a last resort, and that the process to hire a non-Canadian is quite onerous.

“You have to identify the job. You have to get it approved by the federal government. You have to prove you have a vacancy that cannot be filled by a Canadian worker. Then you have to recruit the worker, make sure it’s the right worker, then bring the worker to Canada.”

He concedes restaurant owners are usually very happy to get foreign workers.

“The workers come here for a number of different reasons. They work long hours and they are flexible. They send money home. That’s why they’re so diligent about their work.”

The use of foreign workers in the fast food industry is making headlines, after the federal government accused the franchise owner of three McDonalds in Victoria of abusing the program, by providing more hours and higher pay to his foreign workers.

In 2012, the last year stats are available, there were 33,000 temporary foreign workers in Vancouver alone.

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