In response to a new federal government policy announcement, Manitoba Federation of Labour President Kevin Rebeck said “The Harper Conservative Government is handing its business supporters a 15 per cent wage break for skilled workers through changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker program announced on April 26.”

Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development announced the changes at a Nisku Alberta manufacturing plant.

One of the changes announced by Finley is “A new wage structure will also be introduced to provide employers with greater flexibility. Wages that are up to 15 per cent below the average wage for an occupation in a specific region will be accepted.”

Rebeck said, “This gives employers a double hammer – they can use this to tell skilled Canadian workers to accept lower wages or the jobs will be filled through the back door opened by Harper. When Canadian workers resist the pressure, the jobs will be filled with Temporary Foreign Workers. I’m concerned about the economic pressure this puts Canadian workers under and the danger of a negative backlash directed at the foreign workers who have to live in our communities as neighbors.”

The changes include adopting an on-line application process, enhanced automation and call centre support.

Rebeck said, “Harper is continuing his drive to fire public service workers and replace them with these features – you only have to look at the train-wreck at Service Canada where on-line applications, automation and call-centres have been replacing people for years. Canadians are furious about how hard is to get to talk to a living person who has the answers to their questions, and how much time is added to the process of dealing with government because of confusing application forms.”

Rebeck said these changes are the inevitable result when you limit your consultations to only employers.

“Things get better for business operators – things get worse for working families.”