(Quebec) The rights of temporary foreign workers staying in Quebec will now be better protected, throughout the year.
Posted at 11:11 a.m.
Faced with a major labor shortage, Quebec wants to focus more on the contribution of these foreign workers to meet its needs, hence its desire to provide them with better supervision.
The Minister of Labor, Jean Boulet, announced Monday that the existing prevention squad created to supervise these workers will therefore be extended to several sectors of activity and will become permanent.
At a press conference, the Minister recalled that this seasonal auxiliary workforce, often associated with the agricultural sector, had rights like all other workers.
The squad of the Commission for Standards, Equity, Health and Safety at Work (CNESST), created in 2019, will go beyond the agricultural sector to cover the entire year during the retail trade, the sector manufacturing, accommodation, catering, food processing, management of companies and enterprises and health care.
The initiative is based on the observation that these workers arrive in Quebec without knowing their rights and the employers who hire them are often unaware of their obligations towards them, in terms of working conditions.
By 2023, the squad will offer free information workshops in the field, in several regions, on standards, occupational health and safety. These workshops will be available in Spanish, since many of these workers are Spanish-speaking.