SIUC strikes deal with Canadian government

The Canadian sailors’ union accepted a last-minute settlement offer put forward by the Government of Canada.    The Seafarers’ International Union of Canada (SIUC) said Wednesday it accepted a last-minute settlement offer put forward by the Government of Canada.
   The SIUC is a Canadian sailors’ union affiliated with the Seafarers’ International Union of North America (SIU).
   In 2015, the SIU filed 42 lawsuits against the Canadian government, claiming “instead of providing Canadian seafarers with the opportunity to work, and in violation of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), the Government of Canada was systematically issuing work permits to the non-Canadian crew members of hundreds of foreign ships engaged in shipping in Canadian waters,” the SIUC said in Wednesday’s press release.
   Some of these temporary foreign workers made as little as $2.41 per hour while working in Canada, when they should have been paid the Canadian prevailing wage.
   The SIU filed an additional 13 lawsuits with similar allegations in July 2016.
   In addition, the Canadian government admitted in July 2016 that it improperly issued work permits to the foreign crew members of the New England, a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker than engaged in shipping in Canada. The Federal Court granted SIUC’s judicial review applications and set aside 11 work permits for the New England crew members.
   Overall, the SIUC was successful in reaching a settlement of the remaining outstanding 44 lawsuits with the Employment and Social Development of Canada.