• Otter@lemmy.ca
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    1 year ago

    “I am deeply disturbed by the accounts of exploitation and abuse shared with me by migrant workers,” he said

    “Employer-specific work permit regimes, including certain Temporary Foreign Worker Programmes, make migrant workers vulnerable to contemporary forms of slavery, as they cannot report abuses without fear of deportation,” Obokata said.

    He acknowledged recent policies enacted to promote human rights across the business sector such as the creation of a Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) and other codes of conduct.

    But he emphasized the need to regularize the status of foreign migrant workers, citing their valuable skills the bring to the economy.

    “I urge the Government to bring forward legislation requiring Canadian companies to implement mandatory human rights due diligence, and expand the independence, powers, and mandate of the CORE,” he said.

  • can@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    Glad to see some attention brought to this. So many fast food places are run this way and they always look so overworked.

  • Pat12@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Someone i know who works higher up in walmart said something like 50-60% of their workers were FWP

  • tal@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    Yeah, sorry, but no. That’s not slavery. If you’re present in the country illegally and working illegally and could be returned home at any time, you may not be making as much as you would if you were present legally, but you are not compelled to work. You can always terminate working and return to the country where you are legally supposed to be. If you choose to be in Country A illegally and working there rather than in Country B legally and working (for less) there, that is your choice, and you are not being compelled to work.

    Slavery entails someone being compelled to work.

    • n2burns@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      Please read the article before making your xenophobic proclamation. This has nothing to do with “illegal” immigration. The Temporary Foreign Worker program brings in employees legally. Once in Canada many employers illegally exploit these employees under threat that if the employees report their conditions, their contract will be terminated.

      • tal@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        That still is not slavery. The person in question is still not compelled to work.

        • n2burns@lemmy.ca
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          1 year ago

          The employees ARE being compelled to work under threat. It might not be dictionary definition slavery, which is why the article calls it one of the “contemporary forms of slavery”.

          • tal@kbin.social
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            1 year ago

            No, they are not. They can stop working; they just won’t be able to continue their job under more-favorable conditions.

            • Evie @lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              You’re such a moron, it’s sickening how you could be sooo stupid…

            • Aldehyde@kbin.social
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              1 year ago

              American slaves could have stopped working whenever they wanted; they only wouldn’t have been able to continue not being whipped

            • Windex007@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              Definitions of slavery don’t necessarily require there to be legal ownership of another. Never has.

              Don’t make your own ignorance everyone else’s problem.

              Even if all you did was read the title (which I strongly believe to be the case for you), you maybe noticed the words “contemporary” and “formS

              What types of questions do you think those words would mean to a curious person engaging with the content in good faith?

        • Ubermeisters@lemmy.zip
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          1 year ago

          Yeah you’re right they could just choose to starve to death I suppose.

          Fucking dumbass

        • BarrelAgedBoredom@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          Slavery takes many forms and the industry has adapted with the times. Chattel slavery (the kind you’re probably thinking about) is just one type of slavery. It would be a good idea to learn about how modern slavery looks. You might help rescue someone one day if you know what to keep an eye out for

        • squiblet@kbin.social
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          1 year ago

          So what if their option is to return to their home country and experience even more dire economic conditions? How about typical life in the US where sure, you could stop working, if you don’t mind starving and being homeless?