A group of BC construction unions are say they will pull $1 billion in investments from RBC over plans to outsource jobs to temporary foreign workers.
As RBC struggles to manage public perceptions around its outsourcing decision, one Canadian union group is threatening to pull investments from the company if it doesn’t reverse its decision.
The group of seven construction trades and industrial unions, said the union had instructed the administrator of the pension plans to withdraw its business from RBC Investor Services, a subsidiary of RBC, if it didn’t reverse plans to move 45 Canadian IT jobs offshore.
The bank’s plans became public last week, when it was revealed it would bring a group of temporary workers from India for training over the next year. Rubbing salt in the wounds of the departing staff was the fact that some were expected to train their replacements.
“A billion dollars is chump change to them, we understand that, but we certainly think that a billion dollars is a substantial amount of money in the B.C. economy and if they are not going to manage our money right, we will find others that will,” said Lee Loftus, the business manager for the B.C. Insulators Union and president of the B.C. Construction Trades Council. “This doesn’t jeopardize our fiduciary responsibility on returns, this is about finding partners that are willing to do business that’s acceptable to us.”
RBC president and CEO Gord Nixon apologized last week and said the affected staff would be given other roles with the company.
A government investigation was underway into whether the bank’s decision violated the terms of the temporary foreign worker program, which required companies to show there were no suitable Canadian workers for a role.
Latest news:
Use psychometrics to improve health and safety
Time off for charity work can improve retention
Using technology to, like, engage young workers
