Alberta Group Wants English Training for Foreign Workers

Last Updated: Wednesday, January 23, 2008 | 5:31 PM MT

CBC News

All temporary foreign workers coming to Alberta should be provided training in English to ensure they can do their jobs safely, says a labour organization that represents 50,000 construction workers.

Temporary worker Caesar Saenz shows his scars from a January 2007 chainsaw accident he suffered on the job. (CBC)

The Alberta Building Trades Council is hearing more stories of foreign workers being injured on the job, Gerry Donnelly, the government relations officer for the trades council recently told CBC News.Many of those injuries were likely caused because not all employees understand safety procedures due to a language barrier, he added.

"I immigrated to Canada in 1978 and I found it difficult with the terminology, and the whole safety culture is different to the one I was familiar with in Europe where I worked," Donnelly said.

"I can only imagine if I was to go work in Brazil, for example, or go and work in China or in the Philippines. I don't know how I would deal with the language. I would have some serious concerns about how I would recognize a sign that alerts me to a safety hazard."

Temporary foreign workers are not eligible for government-sponsored English language training provided to people immigrating to Canada, said Jim Gurnett, who works with Edmonton's Mennonite Centre for Newcomers.

More than 22,000 workers from countries including India, Poland and China are working in Alberta restaurants, the oilsands and the construction industry under the Temporary Foreign Workers Program.

Almost 500 of those workers were injured in the province last year, according to the Alberta Workers' Compensation Board.

'I can only imagine if I was to go work in Brazil ... I don't know how I would deal with the language. I would have some serious concerns about how I would recognize a sign that alerts me to a safety hazard.'

—Gerry Donnelly,
Alberta trades council

One of them, Caesar Saenz, injured his head with a chainsaw in January 2007 after being told by his boss to cut a piece of pipe, even though he had never used the equipment, and had no protective gear.

"You know, I tell him. I say, 'I don't know how to use the chainsaw.' Saenz told CBC. "He says, 'Don't worry. It's easy. Do it. It's easy don't worry. Just press the button and cut the pipe. That's all. It's easy.' … I was very, very, very scared because there was lots of blood."

Saenz was rushed to the hospital and needed 36 stitches to sew up the gash. He was left with scarring on his face. Provincial officials are investigating the accident.

"Those stories not only make you sad. They make you sick to your stomach," said Alberta Employment Minister Iris Evans, who set up a team of investigators in December to check on companies that employ foreign temporary workers.

The team, which includes eight health and safety inspectors located in offices in Edmonton and Calgary, has handled 160 calls and those led to 22 work site inspections.

But the minister said she doesn't see a need for mandatory English-language training.

"Most temporary foreign workers in Canada are speaking English," Evans said.