And yet nobody asked the workers involved.
I wouldn’t put it past them—B.C. Transit—hiring a company that is underpaying foreign workers rather than hiring good Canadians to build the Skytrain extension in Vancouver—because government-owned businesses like B.C. Transit can’t do anything right. Case-in-point? The state-run CBC. But I have a feeling I’m on B.C.T’s side on this, rather than on the big huge socialist agenda-driven multi-million-dollar multinational (suddenly “globalization” is dandy when it’s them!) labor union’s side, since the story is based on pure hearsay, rumour, and speculation.
But that’s good enough for the unionized state-run media!
B.C. transit tunnel planners deny foreign workers being exploited
Last Updated Fri, 02 Jun 2006 11:15:43 EDT
CBC NewsBritish Columbia’s construction unions say dozens of foreign workers at the Canada Line rapid transit tunnel are the victims of exploitation, receiving less than the minimum wage.
The B.C. and Yukon Building and Construction Trades Council says more than 50 workers from Costa Rica, Peru and Colombia are working long hours with no overtime — which works out to a wage of less than $5 an hour.
“We feel that it’s important enough that we put everybody on notice that this is absolutely unacceptable. This is scandalous,” said the council’s executive director, Wayne Peppard.
“We were shocked and appalled to learn that these atrocious wages are being paid to foreign workers here on this RAV line. This is an exploitation of the temporary foreign-worker program.”
Oh yeah and…
The council says it’s also upset that Canadian union workers are not being used on the tunnel portion of the rapid transit line from downtown Vancouver to Richmond and the airport.
…but that has nothing to do with it.
Paragraph from a page on the Union’s web site:
Join A Union
Organizers from Building Trade Affiliate unions are constantly engaged in organizing activity. Workers who are not represented by any union, or workers who want to change their representation to a Building Trades Union, are always welcome in the family of unions covered by the BCYT-BCTC.
The Union’s press release, from whence this state-run media story came, no doubt, has this one paragraph explaining the source of the “information”:
Peppard said the BCYT-BCTC learned of the situation through some of its members who were working on the project alongside the foreign workers.
Apparently the state-employed crack CBC reporter team in Vancouver couldn’t find even one worker to interview, thus ending any speculation. Better to just rely on the union’s say-so. Better we have the speculation, apparently. Suits the agenda better I guess.
PTBC was founded by Mr. Johannesen in 2000.
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