Job requirements include Mandarin language skills.
from the United Steelworkers
BURNABY, BC — Postings for new mining jobs in British Columbia reveal the companies involved in operating the mines always intended to hire temporary foreign workers from China — while purposefully excluding BC and Canadian workers — by including Mandarin as a required language.
The United Steelworkers (USW) is releasing a package of job postings used by the three companies that, aside from standard qualifications such as mining experience and training certificates, also stated, "Other languages: Mandarin."
The ads appeared online through Human Resources and Skills Development Canada's job posting service and were placed by HD Mining, Canadian Kailuan Dehua Mines, and Canadian Dehua International Mines Group, searching for hundreds of workers to fill a variety of positions.
"Never in the history of Canadian mining have we ever seen a requirement to speak Mandarin mentioned in a posting for a job in a Canadian mine," says Steve Hunt, the Steelworkers' Western Canadian Director.
A requirement like that automatically eliminates the vast majority of Canadian job applicants from consideration.
"A requirement like that automatically eliminates the vast majority of Canadian job applicants from consideration. What possible justification can the company provide for requiring Mandarin to be spoken in a mine in BC, other than being a convenient and disingenuous way to claim there are no qualified Canadian applicants," states Hunt.
The companies that posted the ads recently received government approval to bring up to 2,000 temporary foreign workers from China into BC to work in new mining operations, by claiming not enough Canadian workers are available to do the work.
On October 10, 2012, BC Jobs Minister Pat Bell claimed on CKNW Radio that the company had "undergone an exhaustive search" for Canadian applicants and had "come up empty handed."
"These job postings raise serious concerns about the validity of the process the companies underwent to obtain approval for the use of temporary foreign workers, and the decision to grant them that approval," says Hunt.
"How can the BC government and the companies involved claim that no BC or Canadian workers are available to work in these mines when they purposefully include a Mandarin language requirement meant to exclude them?"
About United Steelworkers
The USW represents about 850,000 working men and women in Canada and the United States in a wide variety of industries, ranging from glass making to mining, paper, steel, tire and rubber and other manufacturing environments, to the public sector, service and health care industries.
2 Responses to “Mining jobs for temporary foreign workers only”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
[…] and disingenuous way to claim there are no qualified Canadian applicants,” states Hunt. MORE Share this:FacebookTwitterDiggEmailPrintMoreLinkedInRedditStumbleUponRelated […]
[…] Mining jobs for temporary foreign workers only […]