Remove barriers to workers

Re Meat plants suffocated by foreign worker limits, Feb. 21 The ongoing shortage of labour at Canadian meat plants is not surprising. However, the solution should not be a removal of foreign worker limits.

Unemployment in Canada is still unacceptably high. There are many workers in Canada who are capable of filling these vacancies. They are just not prepared to accept the unsatisfactory working conditions and compensation offered by these employers.

When there is a shortage in the marketplace, the normal response is to raise the price. The inadequate rates of compensation in this sector are documented in your article as being in the range from $13 to $19 an hour, compared to average rates for other agricultural-sector workers of $25.75.

A better government response would be to remove barriers to workers in this and other sectors of the economy who wish to unionize, so that they can act collectively to improve their working conditions and make their employers more competitive in the labour market. Rabbi Shalom Schachter, Interfaith Social Assistance Reform Coalition, Toronto