It is not far from fryers and meatballs that some twenty Filipinos, who arrived in Quebec a few months ago, are learning the basics of the French language.
In small rooms at McDonald’s restaurants in Joliette and Berthierville, these new employees take French courses subsidized by the Quebec Ministry of Employment during their working hours. The focus is first on the vocabulary they need to work.
“I told the teacher that it would help if they knew the numbers in French, to call customers by their order number. It’s good that they know certain words, like ‘cream’ and ‘sugar’, so she insisted on those words,” reports Marc Savage, director of operations for these two restaurants belonging to the same franchisee.
The latter explains that the recruits were chosen to fill the glaring lack of personnel, so important that a reduction in opening hours was considered. For their employer, who hired them through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, it is essential that they can quickly communicate with their colleagues and clients in French.
“They are really well received. It only happened once that a client made a complaint, because a worker understood French less well. I told him, ‘If they’re not there, the door will be locked,’” says Mr. Savage.
These workers already had restaurant experience, some in McDonald’s. Several of them were even managers for the banner in their country of origin. If they agreed to be uprooted, it was in the hope of bringing their families and rebuilding their lives in Canada, notes the director.
They are therefore very motivated to integrate. This is also what their employer wants. “They arrive with a small base of French. They started French lessons by themselves on the Internet,” he says.
Marcelle Abdelmessih teaches French to some of them. She considers her group to be very strong. “They absorb like sponges. For example, there is one who asks me how to say “Can you help me please?”. I answer him. As soon as he leaves the classroom, he repeats to several of his colleagues: “Can you help me please?” »
They are really well received. It only happened once that a customer made a complaint, because a worker understood French less well
A widespread practice
Mr. Savage ensures that no Filipino takes the place of a Quebecer. He believes that the use of foreign workers will continue to increase in this industry, which is sorely lacking in workers. These McDonald’s franchises are far from being the only ones in their situation. For example, between October 2022 and March 2023, three different McDonald’s restaurants, in Montreal, Baie-Comeau and Amos, obtained federal authorization to bring in a total of twenty temporary foreign workers.
Before embarking on the adventure, Mr. Savage’s team had spoken with several McDonald’s owners who were further along in the process. Their experience with Filipino workers was positive, he says.
In the past year, several Quebec restaurants have obtained a positive result from a labor market impact study, a document issued by the Government of Canada for the hiring of foreign workers, for hundreds of positions. For example, between March 2022 and March 2023, they were able to recruit 2,351 cooks, 1,773 food service supervisors and 1,238 counter attendants, kitchen helpers and support staff from abroad.
Vice-president of public affairs for the Association Restauration Québec, Martin Vézina has noticed an increase in the use of temporary workers in all types of restaurants, from fast food to gastronomy, including family establishments. Moreover, since January 2022, companies in the sector have the right to employ up to 20% temporary foreign workers, rather than 10%.
“The objective is to have these workers permanently, but with the current programs, it is difficult to bring in people for low-skilled trades. Out of spite, the restaurateurs fall back on it,” says Mr. Vézina.
In this industry, francization is important, he believes. “Customers want to be served in French and employees work in French, so it’s important that immigrants speak French or learn it. »
McDonald’s Canada did not respond to our requests for information.