Fierce competition and quiet placement

In order to access the offices of these discretely-located placement agencies, it is best to be well informed. There is nothing to indicate their existence. Often, you have to access them by a side door without any signs hanging overhead, or even climb one or two floors before finding the first trace of an agency.

In the shadows, yet very active. They assure a rotation of workers who are not always in line with the rules in the working code. It is international students or immigrants, with and sometimes without a permit, who come in offering a workforce at a low price.

Competition in the sector is ferocious. Beyond that, statistical figures on these enterprises are difficult to determine. There is no law in Quebec that controls the activities of these enterprises.

They pop up and disappear on a regular basis, change their names, and changes locations.

Many of the clients come from cultural communities, their rights and working conditions ignored.

The risks do not only affect the workers, but also the companies who call these agencies, either conscious or in the dark about their illegal operations.

“We hope to sensitize the businesses to the risks,” said Michèle Caron, industrial commissioner at the Développement Économique Saint-Laurent service. “We recommend they verify the agency is credible, with a verifiable address, website, publicity… and that it has been in business for some time, with fees comparable to the rest of the industry. On the other hand, certain new agencies can also be very credible, so one’s judgment is a big part of it.”

Non-payment of GST, PST, or taxes to the CSST can lead to a number of dangers for the enterprise itself. If the agency suddenly disappears, the employer can then be held accountable by the tax departments. If a temporary worker gets into an accident and is not covered by insurance, serious difficulties can follow.

But agencies that do everything by the book cannot compete with the low prices advertised by certain other agencies.

Undercover, I posed as a French student with no work permit looking for a temporary job.

During my first visit to an agency, my interviewer had me fill out a formula without verifying my identity or the validity of my social insurance number. Once that was done, I told them about my situation and that I did not have a work permit. “That’s no big deal,” they told me. “It’s not really a problem.” Having proposed a job as a forklift driver, I asked about what to do in case of an accident at work. The answer: “You just be careful while you’re at work, and it will be fine.” My candidature was then validated.

During my second visit to a similar agency, I went through exactly the same process. There, they were more reserved and asked if a request for a permit could not be made. However, my case was still filed. A few days later, the representative told me that “at this time, the period is not good and we cannot accept anyone without a permit,” possibly indicating that periods when illegal workers were accepted have taken place.

These two visits took place in St. Laurent. The agencies suggested jobs in Lachine, but one agent told us that businesses in St. Laurent were also on their client list.

“Following our visits to some enterprises, we noted that a lot of employers have resorted to temporary workers paid at abnormally low rates,” said Michèle Caron. “The phenomenon of these types of agencies is at risk of going up, a consequence of the lack of workforce. Our role is solely to do prevention around the enterprises.”

As for surveying this new phenomenon, we must wait for the government to seriously look at this file.

(Translated by Elyse Amend)

(Photo: Martin Alarie)