Latest news with #laborshortage
CTV News
2 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Quebec manufacturers fear ‘catastrophic autumn' due to declining foreign worker numbers
The flight simulator assembly plant is seen at the CAE facility in Montreal, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press) The decline in the number of temporary foreign workers is worrying Quebec's manufacturing sector, which fears a 'catastrophic autumn' for the workers and businesses affected. 'It's really one minute to midnight because people are starting to leave,' said Julie White, president and CEO of Quebec Manufacturers and Exporters (MEQ), in an interview on Monday. 'When you don't know if you'll be able to work in the fall, you might decide to leave.' She is asking Prime Minister Mark Carney to grant grandfathering rights to workers already in Canada. 'We are asking the federal government to allow these workers to stay in Quebec,' said White. 'They already have housing. They are already here. They are working. They are paying taxes.' Since the spring, the business community has been increasingly vocal in its opposition to the tightening of criteria for access to temporary foreign workers. Previously, companies could only hire 20 per cent of low-wage temporary foreign workers. This threshold has been lowered to 10 per cent. Companies could lose workers who are essential to their smooth operation if nothing is done quickly. According to White, this tightening is 'putting a spoke in the wheel' for companies that are already dealing with an uncertain economic environment in the wake of the trade war. MEQ cites revenue losses if companies are unable to recruit the necessary workforce. 'There is a lot of nervousness on the part of businesses, and a lot of misunderstanding about what is happening.' In Quebec, a worker earning less than $34.62 per hour is considered low-paid, according to the terms established by the federal government based on the median wage. This threshold does not take into account the reality of several regions, lamented White. 'It must be understood that, in several regions, $34 is much higher than the average income. So, this creates difficulties,' she said. White said that she has the ear of Quebec elected officials in the Carney government, but things are not moving fast enough for her liking. 'It's good to be listened to, but we need to be able to make a difference. We don't feel that Ottawa shares the same sense of urgency that we have in the regions of Quebec right now.' The office of Employment and Families Minister Patty Hajdu defended the changes, which are intended to 'reduce Canadian employers' dependence on the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP).' 'To be clear, the TFWP is designed as an extraordinary measure to be used to fill critical employment gaps, only when qualified Canadians and permanent residents are unable to fill the vacancies,' insisted the minister's attaché, Jennifer Kozelj. 'It does not replace Canadian talent and is contingent on ensuring that steps have been taken to recruit Canadian workers,' she added. 'Now is the perfect time to invest in Canadian talent.' Kozelj declined to comment on whether adjustments would be made to meet the demands of the business community. White responded that foreign workers are necessary for manufacturers, as the local workforce is scarce and many workers are approaching retirement. 'If there were local workers, manufacturing companies would hire them,' she said. Recruiting foreign workers involves costs and administrative procedures, which White estimates at approximately $15,000 per temporary worker. 'It takes time and investment,' she emphasized. 'It's not a simple solution. We don't do it because it's easier.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on July 21, 2025.
CBC
2 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Quebec manufacturers urging Ottawa to let temporary foreign workers already here stay
Manufacturing businesses in Quebec are calling on the federal government to allow temporary foreign workers already employed in the province to stay and continue working in the industry. In September of last year, the federal government capped companies' ability to hire low-wage temporary foreign workers at 10 per cent of their workforce compared to 30 per cent previously. It also limited contracts for these positions to one year. According to Manufacturers and Exporters of Quebec (MEQ) president Julie White, this is not sustainable for the factories in Quebec's regions that are starting to see the consequences of these changes to the temporary foreign worker program. "We anticipate that the fall might be catastrophic for many manufacturers if we don't review the rules that were announced last fall," she said. Hundreds of temporary foreign workers are already packing up and leaving the province because their permits have expired and their employers can't renew them, she said. Some are leaving despite their permits still being valid for a few months because they aren't confident that their contracts will be renewed when the time comes. Despite support from the provincial government and conversations with the federal government, federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu is too slow to act, says the MEQ. Ottawa aiming to reduce 'dependence' on program In an emailed statement to Radio Canada, Hajdu's press secretary Jennifer Kozelj said the government was "committed to reducing the dependence of Canadian employers on the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP)." "To be clear, the TFWP is designed as an extraordinary measure to be used to fill critical employment gaps, only when qualified Canadians and permanent residents are unable to fill the vacancies," she wrote. "Now is the ideal time to invest in Canadian talent." But the MEQ said Canadian workers can't fill the gap. "We are in an extraordinary situation," said White, noting that the current trade war is already weakening the manufacturing sector, on top of a labour shortage. "The businesses that go and recruit TFWs [temporary foreign workers] don't do it because it's easy or fun… they don't have a choice." There are 11,000 vacant job positions in manufacturing in Quebec, according to the Institut de la statistique du Québec. "What we want from the federal government is the sensibility to our specific needs here in Quebec," said White, adding that she was disappointed with their statement. The MEQ wants Ottawa to grant the industry a special privilege that would allow temporary foreign workers already working in Quebec's manufacturing sector to stay in the province and continue working. It's something Quebec Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge has supported, said White. In a statement to Radio-Canada, Roberge's office said that maintaining a level of temporary foreign workers in certain regions was important for manufacturers facing labour challenges. It encouraged the federal government to "concentrate its reduction efforts in the Montreal and Laval regions," said spokesperson William Demers. White says the federal government needs to act fast to grant the exemption and let workers stay so Quebec's manufacturing can continue to function. Even having a few temporary workers missing can affect entire production lines, she says. "If you lose 10, 15, 20, 25 workers in a matter of a couple of weeks and you don't have the capacity to find more, businesses won't be able to be productive," she said.
NHK
01-07-2025
- Business
- NHK
Job hunting for high school seniors starts in Japan amid labor shortage
The job hunting season has started in Japan for next year's high school graduates. A continued labor shortage is expected to result in high demand for high school graduates. Companies began submitting their job offers to high schools on Tuesday, effectively opening the job hunting season for next spring's graduates. The ratio of job offers to seekers is expected to remain high for next year's graduates. In March this year, there were 41 job openings for every 10 seekers. At a high school in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward, company officials were submitting their job listings on Tuesday. The school is receiving offers from a wide range of industries including the service and manufacturing sectors. It said some companies have raised their monthly wage for new recruits by up to 30,000 yen, or about 210 dollars. A human resources official at a logistics company said many firms are stepping up their efforts to hire high school graduates. The official said her company hopes to increase new recruits by raising wages and improving employee benefits. As of March last year, 38.4 percent of high school graduates had quit their jobs within three years after they began working. The percentage was higher than that of university graduates.
Reuters
11-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
US immigration raid of Omaha meat plant cuts staff, fuels food production worries
CHICAGO, June 11 (Reuters) - U.S. meat producer Glenn Valley Foods was operating an Omaha, Nebraska, facility with about 30% of its staff on Wednesday after federal agents detained workers in an immigration raid the previous day, slashing the output of products it sells to grocery stores and restaurants, the company's president said. In the wake of Tuesday's sweep by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, livestock traders and market analysts expressed concerns that the potential deportation of undocumented workers from such raids could disrupt U.S. food production at a time when beef prices have soared and meat processors report a labor shortage. ICE agents detained about 74 to 76 workers out of roughly 140 at the Glenn Valley Foods plant, President Chad Hartmann said. Other workers did not show up on Wednesday because they felt afraid or traumatized, he said, adding that the facility's production dropped to about 20% of normal. Glenn Valley Foods sells steak, chicken and corned beef products to restaurants and grocery stores, according to its website. Retail beef prices have set records as the size of the U.S. cattle herd has declined to its lowest level in 70 years after a years-long drought raised feed costs. Consumer demand for steaks and hamburgers has stayed strong nevertheless. Glenn Valley Foods is trying to determine how long it will take to hire new employees, Hartmann said. "The hole that got punched into our business is staffing," he said. Livestock traders worried that immigration raids could slow meat companies' demand to buy cattle from farmers to process into beef, if the companies do not have enough workers. Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures came under pressure on Tuesday during the raid, after recently hitting records. "There's certainly going to be nervousness out there on where the labor situation goes, going forward," said Matt Wiegand, a commodity broker for risk management firm FuturesOne in Nebraska. Meatpackers still face an acute worker shortage, said Julie Anna Potts, president of the Meat Institute industry group. It worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, when major companies such as Tyson Foods (TSN.N), opens new tab temporarily shut plants because of a lack of workers. Glenn Valley used E-Verify, a federal database used for checking employees' immigration status. Hartmann said Homeland Security told him on Wednesday that there was no better system. "We will have to continue to use it," he said. ICE said a criminal investigation was ongoing into what immigration officials called a large-scale employment of immigrants who are present in the U.S. illegally. Footage, opens new tab of the Glenn Valley raid released by ICE showed agents searching the plant, restraining workers' hands and ankles, and taking them into custody. ICE officers have been intensifying efforts in recent weeks to deliver on U.S. President Donald Trump's agenda of record-level deportations. Tensions boiled over in Los Angeles over the weekend when protesters took to the streets after ICE arrested migrants at Home Depot stores, a garment factory and a warehouse, according to rights advocates. On Tuesday night, demonstrators marched in New York, Atlanta and Chicago. More than half of all meatpacking workers in the U.S. are immigrants, according to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a think tank. The Omaha World-Herald newspaper said on Tuesday that raids were also reported at local plants run by large meatpackers Tyson and JBS USA ( Tyson and JBS told Reuters their facilities were not raided.
NHK
10-06-2025
- Business
- NHK
Some Japanese communities struggling to keep foreign workers
Japan has seen record-high levels of foreign workers coming for over a decade, but some communities are still facing labor shortages in crucial fields. NHK World's Kurose Soichiro examines the issue.
