Following the publication of a report detailing the poor working conditions of employees, many of whom are immigrants, in Amazon and Dollarama warehouses, the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) is asking the CNESST to conduct a investigation.
A study officially published on Saturday and carried out by the Interuniversity and Interdisciplinary Research Group on Employment, Poverty and Social Protection (GIREPS), the Center for Immigrant Workers (CTTI) and the Association of Workers of placement agency (ATTAP) focuses on working conditions in the warehouses of these companies in the Montreal region.
The GIREPS report makes several findings, including “unstable employment and a lack of security” in these warehouses.
And large companies like Dollarama and Amazon are more likely to hire vulnerable workers. The survey respondents “are, more than the average handler in Quebec, men and women born outside of Canada. They are four times more likely to belong to a visible minority and twice as likely to be overqualified for this type of job,” the report states.
In response to this study, Monsef Derraji, spokesperson for the PLQ on immigration, francization and integration, summoned the Commission for Standards, Equity, Health and Safety at Work (CNESST) to investigate this situation.
“The situation is that more and more, there are reports coming out. Remember that there is a United Nations rapporteur who came to Quebec to decry the situation,” says Mr. Derraji, in an interview, referring to the words of the United Nations special rapporteur, Tomoya Obokata, who had asked the Canada to “do more to implement (measures) to combat modern slavery, while protecting workers’ rights.”
“On Monday, we will submit a request for an initiative mandate to the Committee on the Economy and Labor, because we must not wait for other tragedies before acting,” added the Liberal MP.
Precarious conditions
Mr. Derraji believes that there is currently “fertile ground for a precariousness of working conditions” for workers, in particular foreign workers and those from immigrant backgrounds.
“Most of the foreign workers with whom I spoke (this) summer, they are often poorly informed about their rights, they are poorly informed about the labor standards applicable in Quebec, which pushes them to undergo very significant pressure in the workplace,” declared the MP, highlighting the impacts of this situation on the physical and mental health of these workers.
“It should also be noted that the use of employment agencies, increasingly frequent in several sectors, greatly affects these workers, and for us, we must go beyond a CNESST investigation,” he said. he added.
Mr. Derraji hopes that the Minister of Labor, Jean Boulet, “will follow” in the direction of his requests.
In reaction, Mr. Boulet recalled that “temporary foreign workers [devaient] be treated fairly and [avaient] access to the same rights as Quebec workers.”
The minister encouraged all workers, Quebecers and foreigners, to denounce and submit a complaint to the CNESST when necessary. “I am sensitive to the situation of the workers discussed in this report. The CNESST has all the necessary powers to ensure their protection as well as respect for their rights and working conditions,” declared Mr. Boulet in a written response sent to The Canadian Press late this afternoon.