A huge hue ‘n’ cry is being raised in Canada these days, on the issue of RBC hiring foreign workers to replace Canadian workers in highly skilled jobs. Reams of paper and computer server memories have been filled with comments from angry ‘locals’ about their threat to boycott RBC, about the jobs being lost to third world countries, read mostly India in fields like IT, laced as usual on internet with racial comments.
Were it not a reflection on the state of Canadian society of today, this whole thing would have been a farce for any world citizen.
The issue is being exploited not because this section of the society has any problems with foreign workers or immigrants. After all Canada has a shortage of workers and adds 250,000 immigrants to its population and at most times, a larger number of foreign workers, every year.
Most of the people complaining would have no issues with these workers working on farms as menial labour, running gas bars as pump attendants, operating small motels, convenience stores, running taxis, working long hours at jobs which pay minimum wages or lower.
There are thousands of jobs, ‘Canadians’ hate doing or need someone to do for them and there are no issues with getting people to fill up those jobs.
No wonder highly skilled immigrants like engineers, chartered accountants, doctors are brought here and their education and experience is declared zero and they are asked to start afresh and the ‘locals’ are happy. These people are selected as ‘skilled immigrants’ in their professions but are still not allowed to work in their professions here due to thousands of created reasons.
The reality- What was actually required in first place was English speaking labourers. Period.
But when the Canadian companies, like companies worldwide, recognize that there exist foreign workers with comparable, if not better skills than the so called highly skilled local workers, it hurts the ego. And when the same companies realize that these people are available at lower cost and have better work discipline and work for longer hours, if required to deliver on time, there is further problem. And when the same companies realize that it makes Economic sense to hire such people and replaces higher paid local workers with them, to improve share holder worth, it becomes a full blown issue.
What exactly has RBC done that is not being done by any corporate anywhere in the world ? If Canadian workers are hired in distant nations because of the skill sets they can add to the work force there, the same is OK. But praise be to the Good Lord! The same should not happen in Canada!
Is it because of the issue or is it because of the realisation that people from the third world, people from countries like India, China can not only produce the goods at cheaper price in their own lands but also actually possess skill sets better than or equal to the so called highly skilled local Canadians and deliver them here itself.
Our neighbour across the border has been smart enough to realize the power of accepting foreign workers and not just accepting them in the system but also giving due value and credence to their skills. That is why their immigration system originates from work visas like H-1, L-1, unlike ours and ensures that highly skilled workers are not just accepted in the system but also later, made a part of the society to sustain growth. The phenomenal growth of USA in all economic sectors and the power it holds in the world, stands testimony to their acceptance of not just cheaper goods from world over but also of amalgamation of ‘Highly skilled foreign workers’ in their industries, hospitals, universities.
If anything, it should be a wakeup call for the Canadian Politicians and Policy makers with conscious and I know that is a difficult one, to make the Canadians realise that they have to stop being frogs in a well and look at the ocean that exists called GLOBAL VILLAGE where workers like goods move freely and where winnings are decided by who brings the best on the table at lowest prices and not by impediments and road blocks created to block free flow.
Realise where the world is going and the speed at which the change is happening world over lest Canada with the road blocks that it has put in place, gets permanently left behind, in the true revolution of the 21st century- the Knowledge Free Flow revolution.
Published in Times of India- April 29th 2013- Link Below-
Published in Guelph Mercury– April 13th, 2013. Link Below-
Devanshu Narang's 