Category Archives: Migrant Workers

Migrant workers launch class action lawsuit against Mac’s Convenience Stores

Posted on by
Reply

Hundreds of people hired through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program are launching a class action lawsuit against Mac’s Convenience Stores. They are reporting that they paid thousands of dollars for recruitment fees and signed employment contracts for jobs in Western Mac’s that did not exist. As reported in this CBC News article, three Surrey-based immigration firms are also being sued.

Lawyers at Allevato Quail & Worth have been working on behalf of the migrant workers in this lawsuit, and they are circulating the poster below about their case (pdf available here). Further information on the case, including information sheets in English, Hindi, Nepali, Tagalog, and Chinese (coming soon) are available on this page.

Mac's Convenience Stores Lawsuit Poster

March 18 Migrante BC Gala Fundraiser for Migrant Workers with Fay Faraday

Posted on by
Reply

Migrante BC Gala Fundraiser

BC Employment Standards Coalition member-organization Migrante BC is hosting a Gala Fundraiser for migrant workers with respected social justice lawyer Fay Faraday as a keynote speaker.

MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER: BUILDING MIGRANT WORKER SECURITY

  • Friday, March 18, 2016, 6 pm -10 pm
  • Holiday Inn (711 W. Broadway, Vancouver)
  • Tickets at $60 each (with dinner); Table of 8 at $450. For tickets, contact 604.879.5850 or email us at migrante.bc@gmail.com
  • Facebook event: RSVP here (optional).
Fay Faraday, a respected social justice lawyer, will be the keynote speaker at Migrante BC's Gala Fundraiser

Fay Faraday, a respected social justice lawyer, will be the keynote speaker at Migrante BC’s Gala Fundraiser.

Keynote speaker: Fay Faraday, noted social justice lawyer; also a strategic adviser and policy consultant on human rights, labour, and constitutional law; litigator for unions, community organizations and coalitions for constitutional and human rights cases before the Supreme Court of Canada.

Pushing back at the normalization of worker precariousness globally and domestically, Faraday’s keynote will issue a call to action and solidarity to map a vision for reform that builds security for all migrant workers.

All proceeds will go towards our volunteer-run and non-profit organization, Migrante BC.

Migrante invites people to join in at the Gala Evening and consider becoming a sponsor:

SPONSORSHIP INFORMATION:

Gold Sponsor $1000 and comes with name recognition during the event, FP advertisement in the souvenir program, 4 tickets to the Gala fundraiser and invitation to private pre-Gala cocktail reception with Fay Faraday

Silver Sponsor $500 and comes with name recognition during the event, HP advertisement in the souvenir program, 2 tickets to the Gala fundraiser and invitation to private pre-Gala cocktail reception with Fay Faraday

Bronze $250 and comes with name recognition during the event, HP advertisement in the souvenir program, 1 ticket to the Gala fundraiser and invitation to private pre-Gala cocktail reception with Fay Faraday.

Sponsoring “The Hand That Feeds” Feb 11 at Just Film Festival

Posted on by
Reply

The BC Employment Standards Coalition, along with the BC Federation of Labour, is pleased to be co-sponsoring the screening of The Hand That Feeds as part of the Just Film Festival. It will be screened on Thursday, February 11th as the second film in a double-feature, with the first film beginning at 7pm. Tickets can be purchased here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d6604tfm-k

At a popular bakery café, residents of New York’s Upper East Side get bagels and coffee served with a smile 24 hours a day. Behind the scenes, undocumented immigrant workers face sub-legal wages, dangerous machinery and abusive managers who will fire them for calling in sick.

Risking deportation and job loss, the workers team up with innovative young organizers and form their own independent union, launching themselves on a journey that will test the limits of their resolve. In one roller-coaster year, they must overcome a shocking betrayal and a two-month lockout. Lawyers battle in back rooms and workers walk the picket line with support from the “Occupy” crowd. If they can win a contract, it will set a historic precedent. But whatever happens, these workers will never be the same.

The BC Employment Standards Coalition will also be present for a Q&A after the film to share ideas about how the issues depicted in the film, which is situated in New York, relate to the local context in BC.

WCDWA Annual Post-Valentine’s Dinner & Dance Fundraiser Feb 20

Posted on by
Reply

12604933_529435833889574_156781708717972016_o The West Coast Domestic Workers’ Association, a member of the BC Employment Standards Coalition, is holding its Annual Post-Valentine’s Dinner & Dance Fundraiser on Saturday, February 20th at St. Mary’s Ukrainian Church at 3150 Ash Street. Tickets are $20 for former or current caregivers, and $25 for community members.

Because the WCDWA faced a large cut-back in funding last year, it needs your support now more than ever. If you are able to support the WCDWA by purchasing tickets, or soliciting sponsorships from organizations or businesses in your community, please let the organization know by calling 604-669-4482 or contacting at natalie(at)wcdwa.ca.

Thank you for your support!

New op-ed on MLA candidates and employment standards

Posted on by
Reply

 

Adrienne Montani, Provincial Coordinator of First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition.

Adrienne Montani, Provincial Coordinator of First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition.

David Fairey, labour economist, a research associate of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ BC Office, and Co-Chair of the BC Employment Standards Coalition.

David Fairey, labour economist, a research associate of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ BC Office, and Co-Chair of the BC Employment Standards Coalition.

In this week’s Province newspaper, BC Employment Standards Coalition members Adrienne Montani and David Fairey call on MLA candidates in the upcoming by-elections to clarify their parties’ positions on employment standards. They underscore the opportunity for immediate reform in three areas: minimum wages, child protections, and migrant worker rights and protections.

Read the full op-ed here.