Finding humans in the workers
“The story of the mistreated tunnel workers may sound familiar. In rough outline, the it begins with an Italian tunnelling company, SELI, tasked with a major project in Vancouver. Finding no Canadians responding to their ads, the company recruited experienced workers from Latin America, attracting them with comparatively high payment and side benefits such as accommodation. As it turned out, the wages, though higher than what they were used to, were a small fraction of Canadian wages for similar work—and significantly lower than those of Europeans subsequently hired by the same company.” Theo Dombrowski reviews A Fight for Justice: The Compelling Story of Temporary Foreign Workers & Human Rights, by Joe Barrett (Vancouver: Ronsdale Press, 2026) $26.95 / 9781553807391