But he says his experience with Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program — currently under federal review in the wake of controversy over the hiring of Chinese nationals to work in northeastern B.C. coal mines — left him traumatized.
Wu said his prospective employer tried to charge him twice for the opportunity to work at a fast-food outlet in northern B.C. — once for about $3,000, which was paid through an agent, and later for roughly $19,000.
Wu ended up not paying the second amount, worked just two hours at the Robin’s Donuts-2-4-1 Pizza outlet in Dawson Creek, and is now back in China living with his parents.
B.C. law doesn’t permit an employer to “request, share or receive, directly or indirectly” a fee from a prospective employee. The federal government also prohibits what it calls “recruitment” fees.
“This was a nightmare that is still haunting me,” Wu stated in a formal complaint filed in October with the Employment Standards Branch, part of the B.C. Ministry of Labour, Citizens’ Services and Open Government.
Wu’s complaint is one of three active files involving Surrey resident Jian “David” Gu, owner of the Robin’s Donuts-2-4-1 Pizza franchise in Dawson Creek and another that opened recently in Fort Nelson. He also owned a Robin’s Donuts in Surrey, but has sold it.
Two of the complaints obtained by The Vancouver Sun allege that Gu sought $20,000 from each of the prospective employees in exchange for jobs in B.C. The Vancouver Sun was unable to obtain details of the third complaint.
A fourth complaint against Gu was closed last year following a voluntary settlement between the parties “with no attribution of fault, and no identification of contraventions” of the Employment Standards Act, according to the ministry.
“We look into every complaint we receive. Since the (three) complaints are open, the ministry cannot comment on the nature of the complaints,” a statement from the labour ministry said. “Please note (that) these are only complaints at this point. No violations have been found.”
Critics say such complaints barely scratch the surface of potential abuse in Canada’s TFW program, which brought in a record 190,842 workers last year, many of them low-skilled labourers destined for fast-food operations in remote communities.
Two of those critics, immigration lawyer Richard Kurland of Vancouver and employee recruiter Kael Campbell of Victoria, told The Vancouver Sun that both the federal and B.C. governments need to take more aggressive measures to ensure that rules are followed.
Campbell took aim at B.C.’s maximum $500 fine for first-time offenders of the Employment Standards Act, calling it “peanuts” given the potential profits that can be earned by charging fees to temporary foreign workers.
Wu alleges that he was verbally scolded and humiliated during his brief work stint in late June at Gu’s franchise in Dawson Creek, a small northeastern B.C. city that is typical of the remote communities where employers say there is a chronic worker shortage.
He also alleges in his complaint that he was charged rent at a rate of $600 a month during the June 30-July 17 period he was in Dawson Creek, living in a rented room but not working.
And he is claiming a further $1,200 because Gu refused to pay air travel costs between Vancouver and Dawson Creek, and then Dawson Creek to China. His contract stipulated that these costs would be covered by the employer.
Wu’s contract with Gu stated explicitly that the employer “shall not recoup from the employee … any cost.” It also stated Wu pay only $350 a month for accommodation.
Wu said in an interview last week that he was stuck in Dawson Creek with nothing to do because, he alleges, Gu was demanding an additional $19,000 on top of the initial $3,000 payment.
“Because I don’t give him that money, so he don’t give me that work,” Wu said in halting English during a telephone interview. (Gu’s January application to the federal government to bring in temporary foreign workers stated that successful applicants “must be fluent in English”.)
The Vancouver Sun has received a number of complaints in recent weeks about employers and immigration consultants charging workers hefty fees in exchange for help getting work permits under the TFW program.
A TFW permit is invaluable for an aspiring Canadian because it is one of the easiest and quickest ways to get permanent residency status under the B.C. Provincial Nomination Program (PNP). The program was set up by the federal government several years ago to allow provinces to select their own immigrants.
B.C. and other provincial governments have regularly demanded an expansion of the PNP, although federal Immigration Minister Jason Kenney put limits earlier this year on the program due to concerns about its “integrity”.
What is unusual about the allegations against Gu is that his critics are prepared to go public. The Vancouver Sun has been provided transcripts and digital recordings of conversations between a friend of Wu’s, who was acting on his and his parents’ behalf, and David Gu and Gu’s wife Susan.
A second young Chinese national, Hongda Hu, has also come forward to allege that he had a very similar experience with Gu. He filed a complaint with the B.C. government last month that included transcripts of two taped conversations he had with Gu in which they discussed the payment from Hu, 22, to Gu of just over $3,000.
Hu’s complaint includes documentation indicating that Hu’s father made the $3,000 payment directly to Gu. But Hu later decided not to accept the written job offer — which included a contract stating that the employer couldn’t “recoup” recruiting costs — after Gu allegedly told him he would need an additional payment of $20,000.
“This time, I just didn’t feel right to pay him any more because my visa had already been refused once, although he guaranteed me a two-year work visa,” Hu wrote in his complaint.
(The transcript of Hu’s discussion with Gu mentioned only the $3,000 payment, and not the subsequent $20,000 demand.)
In a telephone interview last week, Gu claimed it was the foreign workers and their agent who were trying to make “illegal” payments to him, and said he was being “set up.” He said Wu worked only two hours for one day in late June because he was “lazy.”
Gu — whose application in January to bring in up to 30 temporary foreign workers promised that he would “train, lend support, offer encouragement and guidance and find solutions to potential problems that may arise” — would not fully explain why it took just two hours to determine Wu was unfit to work for him.
However, he did acknowledge in an interview with The Vancouver Sun that he received payments from an agent representing prospective workers who ended up not working in Dawson Creek.
“We paid the money back,” he said.
Gu’s lawyer, Kheng-Lee Ooi, also confirmed in an interview that her client did obtain $3,000 payments from some workers through an immigration consultant, but she insisted her client did nothing wrong.
“That’s a very normal business transaction,” she said. “He’s not taking it from the employee, nothing from the employee. … He’s not selling his jobs. It is a consultant willing to offer (money).”
The B.C. Employment Standards Act states, “A person must not request, charge or receive, directly or indirectly, from a person seeking employment a payment for employing or obtaining employment.”
The federal government also said in an operational bulletin last year regarding the TFW program’s low-skilled jobs component: “Workers cannot be charged any recruitment fees (i.e. fees for finding the foreign national a job, not fees related to applying for a work permit).”
In both the Hu and Wu cases, there are recorded Chinese-language phone conversations involving Gu and, in one instance, his wife Susan. The Sun was provided with English translations which were checked and, where necessary, corrected by a Chinese-speaking reporter with The Sun.
Gu confirmed after The Vancouver Sun played a portion of one recording that it was his wife’s voice speaking with Wu’s friend in the recording.
The July 11 discussion between Susan Gu and Wu’s friend, who spoke with The Sun on the condition he remain anonymous, focused on a planned meeting the next day at Susan Gu’s dentist’s office in Vancouver.
The transcript and audio recording quotes Wu’s friend discussing an arrangement to bring $19,000 to the dental clinic for Susan Gu to count.
“I can count the money in the car. Counting in the clinic is not good,” she replied, according to a transcript that was submitted with the complaint to the B.C. government.
Later in the conversation he says: “So, the total is $19,000 cash (to) give to you tomorrow. Okay?”
Susan Gu replied: “Okay. Okay. Okay. Call me tomorrow.”
As the conversation ended, the friend said: “After I pay you the money, our obligations are complete. Please take care of him. Thank you. Thank you.”
Susan Gu replied, “Okay” and hung up.
The Sun spoke briefly with Susan Gu by telephone, but she said she was unable to converse effectively in English.
On July 12, there was a second recorded conversation between Wu’s friend and David Gu, a transcript of which was also submitted to the B.C. government, in which the friend stated mid-way through the conversation: “This afternoon I will give $2,000 to your wife.”
Gu replied, “Okay” and then the friend added, “$19,000 in total.” Gu didn’t respond.
When the conversation, ended the friend said: “Okay, I will pay the money to your wife this afternoon, then give you a call.” Gu replied, “Okay.” The friend then said “$19,000” and Gu made an inaudible sound.
After a portion of the July 12 conversation was played over the phone for him, Gu was asked to confirm if the voice speaking to Wu’s friend was his.
“It depends on which guy,” he replied. When told that one of the voices “was the young man in China, and one of them was you, correct?” Gu, whose name was mentioned several times during the recording, replied: “I’m not sure because (it’s) not very clear.”
Pressed further, he said: “Okay, but I cannot tell you now, okay? If you want to do it this way, I will call my lawyer.”
Wu’s friend has confirmed that he was recorded in both telephone conversations, and that he was speaking to Susan Gu on July 11 and David Gu on July 12.
Wu’s complaint to the B.C. government includes a Sept. 20 email he sent to Gu demanding the original $3,000 deposit back: “Please forward the money into my account in 15 days, otherwise we will contact the authorities and resolve this issue legally. You may not know this, but we recorded everything, so please proceed cautiously.”
Gu replied that he already returned the $3,000 to the Vancouver agent representing Hu, then added: “What you want to do, I don’t have a right to ask. But please remember: Whatever you can do, I can do fifteen-fold. I have already prepared what I need.”
The second official complaint against Gu, lodged by Hongda Hu, includes two transcripts of recordings between him and Gu on April 10 and April 11. Gu’s lawyer has confirmed that the voice in the recording is her client’s.
In the April 10 conversation, Gu explained that because he is the employer, “the Canadian government will do what I say.” He told Hu that if he came to Canada, Gu would help him obtain permanent residency status under the PNP program.
Gu, despite making clear in his application with the federal government his need to fill a labour shortage, showed little interest in ensuring the young man would remain a long-term employee.
“Once you get (B.C. PNP) status, you can leave. That’s no problem,” Gu said, adding later that Hu doesn’t have to complete the two-year contract: “You don’t have to work the two (full) years. Instead, only work for 10 months...”
Gu ended the conversation by saying: “I will give you a bank account number and you go ahead and wire 20,000 (Chinese renminbi, just over $3,000) to me. This is my rule. Is that okay?”
The next day, Gu told Hu that the federal government had approved Gu’s request for a Labour Market Opinion, which is required before temporary foreign workers are given work permits. The LMO confirms, among other things, that the employer had tried to find Canadians to fill the jobs.
“Since it is approved, you should pay me the money and email me once the money is wired,” Gu said.
Hu’s complaint to the B.C. government includes an April 11, 2012, bank transfer receipt showing that his father, at Gu’s request, transferred $3,000 to a person named Ping Gu. David Gu’s lawyer didn’t reply to two emailed requests asking her to explain who Ping Gu is. An email included in the Hu complaint, also sent on April 11, is from David Gu to Hongda Hu and provides Hu with bank account information under the name of Ping Gu.
The Vancouver Sun has also obtained a letter of reference from B.C. Liberal MLA David Hayer, who represents the Surrey-Tynehead riding.
Dated March 16, 2012, and addressed to “Canadian embassy visa post,” the letter was apparently used by Gu to assist him in obtaining work permits from Canadian embassies in the home countries of prospective foreign workers.
Hayer’s letter noted that Gu owned a Robin’s Donuts-2-4-1 Pizza outlet in northern B.C. and wanted to expand in the region, but would require temporary foreign workers because there wasn’t a “sufficient” number of potential Canadian employees in the region.
“I have met Mr. Gu and know him to be a responsible businessman,” Hayer wrote. “Any assistance you can provide Mr. Gu in his quest for temporary workers is appreciated.”
Hayer, in an emailed statement last week, said he wrote the letter because Gu has been a constituent since 2001 and has “successfully operated businesses in Surrey and Dawson Creek before and during that time.”
He said he was “recently” made aware of the allegations against Gu and asked the source for permission to forward the information to Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
“If the allegations against Mr. Gu are true, I would condemn them without reservation,” he wrote. “When I wrote the letter back in March, I was unaware of any allegations of wrongdoing against him. If I had been made aware of any allegations of wrongdoing, I would not have written a letter in support of Mr. Gu.”
Two B.C. immigration professionals say foreigners are regularly being charged for access to jobs under the TFW program, which garnered national attention this fall after Ottawa granted permits for 201 Chinese nationals to work at a northeastern B.C. coal mine.
The resulting controversy, and reports that Chinese consultants were attempting to charge thousands of dollars to potential workers for the right to obtain those jobs, triggered a federal review of the TFW program.
“This is happening in B.C.’s own backyard, and the B.C. and federal governments cannot keep letting this go unfixed,” said immigration lawyer Richard Kurland, who has frequently advised federal and B.C. politicians on complex immigration issues.
Kael Campbell, who recruits domestic and foreign workers as head of the Victoria-based Red Seal Group, said the TFW program lacks sufficient enforcement.
And the problems are exacerbated by workers’ fears that, if they complain, their jobs and future residency prospects in Canada will be put at risk, according to Campbell.
“There are widespread illegal fees (being) charged to people who can’t afford it,” Campbell said in an email. “This ‘head tax’ goes to the unlicensed and illegal recruiters, ghost immigration consultants, and a small number of Canadian lawyers and certified Canadian immigration consultants.
“These individuals make hundreds of thousands with little to no risk, and have been doing it for years.”
Campbell ridiculed the penalties for violating the Employment Standards Act — penalties that start at $500 for a first offence and grow to $10,000 for a third offence.
Those penalties are “peanuts in the world of immigration and human smuggling.”
He also said that the government rarely recovers the illegal fees charged by recruiters.
Kurland suggested that the B.C. government charge a standard $25 fee for every temporary foreign worker brought to the province, with the money used to set up a complaint monitoring system.
He also said federal government-registered immigration consultants and lawyers be given the exclusive right to apply for LMOs on behalf of employers. In exchange, they should take responsibility for compliance and monitoring.
“If they are not diligent, they risk losing their licence to practice,” Kurland said. “That way, the system could largely police itself.”
Original Article
Source: canada.com
Author: Peter O'Neil
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