From the Margins: What’s wrong with the moratorium on Temporary Foreign Workers in the food service industry? [audio]

Listen to the show here 

Have migrant workers been dealt a raw deal with the April 24th federal government moratorium on hiring Temporary Foreign Workers in the food service industry? There are many who are left hanging, already on the hook due to how the system of recruitment works. A program that was created, with hundreds of thousands of workers becoming dependent on it; with employers definitely taking advantage of a more easily exploitable workforce. Suddenly the rug is pulled out from under many of these workers. Now who suffers?

We’re hearing a lot in the media mainstream about employers crying foul at this decision, but what about the workers themselves? We’re also hearing some details about their struggles, in pieces, but upon reading and listening, it’s easy to come to the conclusion that it is justifiable to axe the program, “for everyone’s own good,” which is fuel for a “Canadian First” employment strategy that does nothing to resolve why migrant workers are here at all. A lot of the discourse out there evades possible resolutions that would be in the interests of migrant workers and really, all workers.

This show features Chris Ramsaroop from Justice For Migrant Workers, a Toronto-based migrant justice organization, to talk about the foreseeable impacts on migrant workers of this moratorium and about what should be done instead.