08) FOREIGN SAILORS PAID A PITTANCE IN CANADIAN WATERS

PV Vancouver Bureau

            The Seafarers International Union of Canada is preparing to take the federal government to court over the use of low-paid foreign sailors on internationally-flagged ships in Canadian waters.

            The union, which represents unlicensed sailors in coastal waters, has been critical over the growing refusal of shipping agents to hire Canadian crews, while the federal government turns a blind eye. Now the SIU has asked the Federal Court in Vancouver for a judicial review of the practice of issuing the foreign sailors temporary work permits.

            The union points to the 60,000 ton, Greek-owned tanker Almathea, which was just in the Port of Montreal and licensed to be transporting crude oil in Canadian waters until Sept. 13.

Fourteen employment contracts, obtained by The Canadian Press, show hourly wages for non-licensed crew members range from $2.13 to $8.80, depending upon the job and before overtime.

            SIU Canada president Jim Given said such exploitation is common in international shipping, where companies will hire sailors from the Philippines, Indonesia or other poor countries for a tiny fraction of what Canadians would make.

            "The Government of Canada is letting foreign ships replace thousands of qualified Canadian workers at a time when 25 per cent of our workforce is unemployed,'' said Given. "The law is very simple. They're giving work permits to foreign workers on ships in Canadian waters when the law says those jobs should go qualified Canadians first."

            Canada Border Services Agency last year issued 142 exemptions to foreign ships so their crews could work legally in Canada, but the union says shipping companies made no attempt to hire Canadian sailors. Another 59 exemptions have been granted so far this year, helping the corporate bottom line of both oil companies and shippers.

            More than 800 SIU members are currently looking for work and the temporary foreign worker exemptions are being abused, Given says.

            "Those permits are intended for those who are going to open a company and employ people and there is some big economic benefit to Canada,'' said Given. "There is no economic benefit to Canada to this, other than allowing Suncor to put more money into their pocket.''

            The Harper government amended the TFWP earlier this year, setting a deadline of April 1st for low-skilled workers to either become permanent residents or leave the country. It also required some employers to provide a labour market impact assessment and demonstrate that no Canadians were available before hiring foreigners. There are loopholes that allow international companies to bypass the assessment, but whether they apply to shipping companies is unclear.

(The above article is from the October 1-15, 2015, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading socialist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)