...Not Have Been About Union Busting?
If they were paid way, way less than the minimum wage by SELI and SNC-Lavalin when they started.
From the Journal of Commerce report on the recent settlement in the wake of a human rights tribunal decision that will pay those workers at least some of what they are owed thanks to the help of local unions:
...When the unions revealed the conditions of these foreign workers in May 2006, they were earning $4 per hour or USD $1000 per month, plus room and board at a minimum of 60 hours per week.
In an attempt to de-rail efforts by the workers efforts to join the union, the employer raised their pay to about $14 per hour. So, the foreign workers on the Canada Line were receiving net earnings of $20,000 a year...
And, by the way, before any 'free-enterprise' groups start screaming about how the local unions only got involved to line their own coffers, well, there's the following, also from the JoC report:
...The union kept no cash from the negotiated settlement and (lawyer Charles) Gordon did not charge any legal fees. The workers receive every cent of the award...
OK?
.
3 comments:
Absolutely, and their has been a lot of union busting going on in BC since the Campbell Clark gang road into town. Many groups have increased their "share" of the market. CLAC ( a fake union) has also made inroads into many markets (Telus, for example), and we never want to lose sight of the fact who SNC and Ledcor donate money to- BC Liberals.
Last night some archival footage of Gordon Campbell welcoming said workers when they broke through the final pebbles on the tunnel provided a reminder of his sleaze.
Throughout the enabling votes on the RAV line and throughout the controversy with the Cambie Street merchants regarding their loss of business because of the tunnel Campbell maintained that it was a “Translink project” and he wasn’t involved.
But when the tunnel breakthrough and later the inaugural run photo ops were staged, guess who shouldered his excrement-laden grin into primary view?
Minutes after a ceremony attended by Premier Gordon Campbell, the workers were given a medal and $20, and ordered to go home immediately.
Classy.
This is how they want to treat all of us. We're not human beings, but inputs and costs.
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