Zabeen Hirji, Chief Human Resources Officer for RBC, responds to allegations that dozens of Royal Bank employees are losing their jobs and being replaced by temporary workers from overseas. The outsourcing company that RBC is using to displace these Canadian workers is iGATE (http://www.igate.com/), located in India. They are spotlighting "strategic outsourcing" on their homepage right now, with some handy little resources for companies looking to "reduce cost and scale up operations, while focusing on their core competency": http://www.igate.com/thoughtshare/increasing-shareholder-value-through-transformational-outsourcing-.aspx (iGATE's "spotlight" articles on "strategic outsourcing" sheds some light on what RBC is up to. You have to register on their site to get the complete articles, and because they want phone numbers I didn't sign up). Meanwhile, an article posted by the Financial Post on April 2nd, 2013, indicates that RBC's shareholder pocket books aren't exactly struggling - "RBC boosts CEO's pay 25% to $12.6-million": http://business.financialpost.com/2013/02/04/rbc-boosts-ceos-pay-25-to-12-6-million/ iGATE's Facebook page has seen some activity since this story broke, but it also has some interesting articles and posts, giving a peek inside iGATE's world: https://www.facebook.com/pages/IGATE-Patni-Global-Solutions/208584152505404?fref=ts&filter;=2 Concerned Canadians have also spoken up en mass, demanding the feds look into it, which they said they would. Canadians have also been taking things into their own hands by threatening to move their money and close their accounts. Facebook pages to boycott RBC have already started, here's the main one: https://www.facebook.com/BoycottRoyalBankOfCanada?ref=ts&fref;=ts I'm not overly confident that the feds will "step in", as loopholes exist for a reason, and I'm sure Jason Kenny (like most Cons), won't want to admit any mistakes were made in the Temporary Foreign Workers Program or in that the piece of legislation he championed, Bill C-43, which contains measures that are, in fact, proving to hurt Canada and Canadians, as well as "legally" discriminating against foreign workers who come to legitimately work here. I suspect Diane Finlay, Minister of Human Resources also has something to do with the current state of Canada's labour market, considering the bulldozer she ran over E.I. last year. I have no doubt the two worked in collaboration. This RBC case is starting to put the entire Temporary Foreign Workers Program into question, shining a spotlight on a bigger issue of what the measures in Bill C-43 are doing to the labour force in Canada. I'm sure that right now, Jason Kenny is finding some way to come out looking like the good guy, scrambling to prevent a deeper probe into his decisions since becoming Minister of Immigration. Solidarity to those employees who had the courage to expose this and speak out. It takes a lot to stand up to the big guys, especially the bankers and feds, and they did both. If more people did this, programs like the TFWP that strip Canadians of their jobs and heavily discriminate those that are coming here to legitimately work, would not have been allowed to get to this point, or even passed through the House of Commons.....then again, there's not much wriggle room with a majority gov. who never allows amendments, is there? Displacing Canadian jobs is happening on a much grander scale, it's not 'just' RBC that's doing this (they just got caught), but if this is what needs to happen for Canadians to see the bigger picture....THANK YOU whistle-blowers! Bill C-43 and the TFWP gives these businesses the loopholes to do exactly what RBC is doing. ************************************************* Related: (VIDEO) "Government Responds to RBC Scandal and the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (April 9th -2013)" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8nOXcBUdjc (VIDEO) "Prime Minister Responds To The Temporary Foreign Workers Program Controversy (April 11-2013)" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyx3VebwMzc -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- **UPDATE** - April 11, 2013 - An open letter has just been issued by the President and CEO of RBC, Gord Nixon. Although late to the PR damage control party, he 'finally' steps up to "apologize" and admit to their technically legal, but ethically questionable hiring practices. Do you think these words go far enough? http://www.scribd.com/doc/135394357/RBC-apology

• published: 08 Apr 2013
• views: 3402