Manitoba looks to Iceland for temporary foreign workers

by RICHARD GILBERT

An economic crisis in Iceland may result in more workers from the country finding employment in Manitoba.

The province’s labour minister travelled to Iceland to assess the feasibility of recruiting construction workers as temporary foreign workers (TFW).

Iceland, with a total population and labour force of about 320,000 and 150,000 respectively, has always been a country with low unemployment rates.

But since last October, when all three of the country’s major banks collapsed, labour market conditions have changed rapidly.

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Downturn making some foreign workers expendable

REMO ZACCAGNA - Herald-Tribune staff

In the current economic context, Gerry Shinn’s Joey’s Only Seafood Restaurant is somewhat of an anomaly.

The restaurant, a Grande Prairie staple since 1993, is busier than ever and Shinn said he would have to hire two more staff.

In the past, when Shinn needed to increase or maintain his staff levels to meet demand, he would look overseas and brought in temporary foreign workers, as there was a dearth of local, qualified individuals.

But with the economic downturn hitting Alberta hard, more people are seeking employment in the service industry and Shinn said he has received many more applications from Grande Prairie residents.

But since it takes up to a year for a temporary foreign worker to get through the red tape, Shinn said he doesn’t plan on trimming his staff of eight foreign workers to make way for locals.

“If we go through the applications that we’re getting, 90 per cent of them are oilpatch workers that, as soon as the oilpatch turns around at all, we’re going to be back short of staff for the length of time it takes to get foreign workers here again,” he said.

When Grande Prairie’s economy exploded in 2005 and 2006, an influx of oilpatch workers meant that service industry businesses struggled to keep up with demand.

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