Foreign workers at striking Edmonton plant seek new work permits
Last Updated: Tuesday, October 21, 2008 | 7:38 PM ET
CBC News
Temporary foreign workers at Maple Leaf Foods in Edmonton called on the government Tuesday to help them get new work permits so they can seek employment somewhere else until the strike at the plant is over.
Last month, workers at Maple Leaf's Edmonton poultry plant walked off the job after rejecting the company's latest contract offer.
About 100 of those employees are temporary foreign workers, and a condition of their work permits prohibit them for working for anyone besides the company that sponsored them.
Some of the workers want to be able to seek employment elsewhere because they are finding it hard to survive on the $230 a week they receive as strike pay if they walk the picket lines, said group spokesman Roberto Alas.
He added that some workers are relying on food banks to survive.
Norman Romero has spent the past 10 months in Edmonton, leaving his wife and two children at home in Honduras.
"I need to pay for school for my daughter," he said. "I pay $400 for her school. I need to pay my rent here. I need to pay my bills."
About half the workers have sought the help of Susan Wood, the temporary foreign worker co-ordinator with the Edmonton Community Legal Centre.
She has been in contact with federal officials to see if they can speed up new permits for the workers. New permits normally can take up to two months to process.
"They have already been on strike for 21 days, and if it is going to take another two months before they are allowed to work, it will be very, very difficult for them," Wood said.
She still has not received an answer from the government.
