Everyone deserves fair treatment, no matter which workplace we are talking about. Offices should be free from abuse and discrimination. To ask for fair treatment would be to ask for basic rights. We don’t need to ask for basic things! That’s why we are bringing to you today “International Workers Rights in Canada”. You may ask what are temporary foreign workers rights in Canada, well, you don’t need to, because we are here with just the thing! So, let’s start reading.
Employment Rights of Foreign Workers
What does the legislation say?
The federal government’s legislation, the Canada Labor Code, lists out the rights and responsibilities of a worker as well as their employer. These rights are within federally regulated fields, like that of telecommunication companies and banks. The territorial as well as the provincial laws cover most of the occupations. Additionally, each province/territory has their own employment laws. These laws are in relation to the pay, working hours, and conditions of employment.
Next comes Canada’s Employment Equity Act along with the Federal Contractors Program. These require the employers to provide better job opportunities for some certain groups of people. These acts basically talk about providing the same treatment to visible minorities along with indigenous people, women, and those with disabilities.
International Workers Rights
The laws in Canada protect all workers, and yes, this does include international workers. Want to check out what are your rights as a foreign worker? Well, we recommend that you see the points below:
- You have the right to have a safe workplace
- You can absolutely keep your work permit and your passport with you
- You should receive compensation for your work
Now, these are the most basic rights that you, as a worker, have. Apart from the above rights, there’s a few more things you need to know. Your employer needs to hand you an employment agreement. Now, this can be done on the first day of the work or either before you join the workplace.
An employment agreement basically contains information about the employee’s wage, their occupation, and how the conditions of work are going to be. Both the employer and the employee need to sign the agreement. The language of the agreement is either going to be French or English.
Moreover, the employer should let the employee know before firing them. The notice of termination of an employee should have a reasonable notice. However, if, for some reason, the employer did not provide a notice, then they definitely need to pay the termination pay. The termination pay is based on how long the employee has been working for the employer, it also depends on which territory or the province they are working.
