Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has established directions for migrant workers addressing potential labour abuses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
IRCC’s guidance includes examples of what is considered abuse or risk of abuse during the pandemic. These examples include, but are not limited, to the following:
- employers willfully withholding wages during the mandatory quarantine period upon arrival or disobeying the conditions of mandatory quarantine.
- providing inadequate tools or working conditions for workers to implement distancing and public health protocols.
- employers forcing or pressuring migrant workers to work when showing COVID-19 symptoms or preventing migrant workers from obtaining medical attention.
IRCC’s guidance also included details about living conditions for migrant workers during the pandemic that include provisions for separate quarantine and isolation accommodations as well as plans for securing essential items during periods of quarantine and isolation.
Source: Canada.ca