John "Eh" MacDonald
22nd October 2010, 19:45
GOLDEN, B.C. — Death threats, racist comments, knife throwing, insufficient food, 15-hour work days, no place to bathe and bounced pay cheques.
Those are some of the bleak conditions described Tuesday by workers hired by Khaira Enterprises Ltd. to clear brush for a B.C. government contract near Golden.
The 25 employees, many of them recent immigrants from Africa, said they were "rescued" from the "torture" in the woods July 21 when some recreational fishermen reported to the Ministry of Forests that they had been illegally burning garbage in their camp, located about 40 kilometres from the nearest town.
De Dieu Kibasi, who is originally from the Congo and now lives in a Vancouver suburb, said the workers were abused by their supervisors.
"We were really, really tortured," he said. "What we want from the government is justice."
The company's $280,000 government contract has been suspended and WorkSafe BC has launched an investigation.
The B.C. Federation of Labour is calling on the provincial government to shut down the company permanently and launch an independent investigation into all silviculture bush camps to see if other workers are facing similar substandard conditions.
Christine Barker, 24, said she saw a supervisor threaten to kill one of her Congolese co-workers and throw a knife at him.
The single mother from northern B.C. has worked in the woods for other companies for five years without incident.
"I would like to thank those who rescued us from the camp. It was such a relief to get out of the camp," Barker said. "We felt as though we were held as hostages. We felt like prisoners."
She said after cheques bounced and no other wages were forthcoming, the employees stopped working on July 17.
"When we started the work refusal, that's when the camp conditions got even worse — showers were denied . . . We were refused food because we weren't working for him at that time."
Several threats were reported to Golden RCMP after the workers were removed from the camp in July.
Barker said they worked 10 to 12 hours a day and travelled three to four hours each time further into the bush from the makeshift camp.
They were promised $25 an hour, but then told they would only get $16 an hour. On the cheques that were given, there is no reference to the number of hours worked.
Sinclair said 20 of them at a time were packed into a 15-person van without seatbelts to be driven to the remote areas that needed to be cleared each day.
Jean-Claude Nabulizi, a Winnipeg man who immigrated from the Congo five years ago, said 10 to 12 people slept crammed in the containers of the trucks that transported the gear.
"I am deeply relieved to be here," said the 25-year-old.
"We were sleeping in those trailers, so afraid to go outside because of the bears."
B.C. Labour Minister Murray Coell said Tuesday that conditions described by workers in a bush camp near Golden are "completely unacceptable."
"I am very concerned about the alleged substandard conditions and mistreatment of employees at this forestry work camp," Coell said in a statement.
He also said his ministry is trying "to ensure all workers are paid."
But Coell did not directly respond to demands by the B.C. Federation of Labour and the New Democratic Party for a sweeping investigation into the conditions in similar bush camps across B.C.
"This is outrageous. It is clear that these people weren't protected. It's clear that enforcement failed. We had Third World conditions in British Columbia," federation president Jim Sinclair said.
"We are asking for the minister of labour to immediately undertake an independent investigation of what happened."
NDP provincial representative Raj Chouhan said there could be other workers trapped in the wilderness in need of help.
"I would press for an independent inquiry into this whole situation," Chouhan said.
There are anywhere from 100 to 200 similar government contracts running at any one time depending on the month, Forests Ministry official Cheekwan Ho said Tuesday.
Source: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/canada/were+really+really+tortured+Immigrant+workers+leav e+forestry+camp/3382927/story.html#ixzz0wGdjB36R
Those are some of the bleak conditions described Tuesday by workers hired by Khaira Enterprises Ltd. to clear brush for a B.C. government contract near Golden.
The 25 employees, many of them recent immigrants from Africa, said they were "rescued" from the "torture" in the woods July 21 when some recreational fishermen reported to the Ministry of Forests that they had been illegally burning garbage in their camp, located about 40 kilometres from the nearest town.
De Dieu Kibasi, who is originally from the Congo and now lives in a Vancouver suburb, said the workers were abused by their supervisors.
"We were really, really tortured," he said. "What we want from the government is justice."
The company's $280,000 government contract has been suspended and WorkSafe BC has launched an investigation.
The B.C. Federation of Labour is calling on the provincial government to shut down the company permanently and launch an independent investigation into all silviculture bush camps to see if other workers are facing similar substandard conditions.
Christine Barker, 24, said she saw a supervisor threaten to kill one of her Congolese co-workers and throw a knife at him.
The single mother from northern B.C. has worked in the woods for other companies for five years without incident.
"I would like to thank those who rescued us from the camp. It was such a relief to get out of the camp," Barker said. "We felt as though we were held as hostages. We felt like prisoners."
She said after cheques bounced and no other wages were forthcoming, the employees stopped working on July 17.
"When we started the work refusal, that's when the camp conditions got even worse — showers were denied . . . We were refused food because we weren't working for him at that time."
Several threats were reported to Golden RCMP after the workers were removed from the camp in July.
Barker said they worked 10 to 12 hours a day and travelled three to four hours each time further into the bush from the makeshift camp.
They were promised $25 an hour, but then told they would only get $16 an hour. On the cheques that were given, there is no reference to the number of hours worked.
Sinclair said 20 of them at a time were packed into a 15-person van without seatbelts to be driven to the remote areas that needed to be cleared each day.
Jean-Claude Nabulizi, a Winnipeg man who immigrated from the Congo five years ago, said 10 to 12 people slept crammed in the containers of the trucks that transported the gear.
"I am deeply relieved to be here," said the 25-year-old.
"We were sleeping in those trailers, so afraid to go outside because of the bears."
B.C. Labour Minister Murray Coell said Tuesday that conditions described by workers in a bush camp near Golden are "completely unacceptable."
"I am very concerned about the alleged substandard conditions and mistreatment of employees at this forestry work camp," Coell said in a statement.
He also said his ministry is trying "to ensure all workers are paid."
But Coell did not directly respond to demands by the B.C. Federation of Labour and the New Democratic Party for a sweeping investigation into the conditions in similar bush camps across B.C.
"This is outrageous. It is clear that these people weren't protected. It's clear that enforcement failed. We had Third World conditions in British Columbia," federation president Jim Sinclair said.
"We are asking for the minister of labour to immediately undertake an independent investigation of what happened."
NDP provincial representative Raj Chouhan said there could be other workers trapped in the wilderness in need of help.
"I would press for an independent inquiry into this whole situation," Chouhan said.
There are anywhere from 100 to 200 similar government contracts running at any one time depending on the month, Forests Ministry official Cheekwan Ho said Tuesday.
Source: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/canada/were+really+really+tortured+Immigrant+workers+leav e+forestry+camp/3382927/story.html#ixzz0wGdjB36R