“Canadians have rights that people in China can only dream of...”
IVP-WC Joe Maloney
No thanks, on cheap labor, lower living standards, he writes
AN INFURIATING SUGGESTION by China’s new consul general to the City of Calgary, Alberta, that Canadian citizens working in the oil sands are paid too much, led to a quick and pointed response by International Vice President Joe Maloney recently.
The Calgary Herald ran a column in its Jan. 18 edition reporting on comments made by Consul General Wang Xingping to the newspaper’s editorial board. Apparently, Wang complained to the Herald that given China’s huge investment in the oil sands region — an estimated $40 billion since 2008 — that it should be easier for lower-paid Chinese workers to be hired in the region. The Herald noted that there are already 340,000 Chinese temporary workers across Canada.
Following is IVP Maloney’s response to Wang, submitted to the Calgary Herald Jan. 29, as a letter to the editor.
Published in the Herald Jan. 31 under the headline “Canadians come first.”
China’s new consul general, Wang Xingping, thinks Canadian workers are “too expensive” and is lobbying for our government to open the gates to a flood of cheaper labour from his country.
Wages and working conditions are indeed better in Canada than in China. Let’s be thankful for that.
Canadians have rights that people in China can only dream of, one of which is to freely bargain our wages and working conditions. Compensation is determined by legal agreements between employees and employers, not by what a foreign company thinks it should be able to get away with.
We welcome workers from outside Canada when they’re needed: when there are no Canadian workers available to do the job. But we insist they be treated the same as Canadians, not as cheap labour in the race to the bottom. Foreign companies must play by Canadian rules.
The Chinese government gets very upset when Canadians criticize China for its lack of human rights. How, then, can Mr. Wang recommend that our own government undertake a measure that would undercut the rights and living standards of Canadians?
Sincerely,
Joe Maloney
International Vice President
