Proponents say temp agencies help businesses stay competitive by providing them with a “flexible” workforce, while also creating job opportunities for people who may not otherwise get them. The company says all employees are given “in-depth training” and that Fiera has invested half a million dollars in health and safety initiatives over the past two years.Īgencies make their money by placing workers at companies at an agreed-upon rate, billing the client for temps’ wages, plus a markup for themselves. ![]() It has also received some $4.7 million in government loans and grants to expand capacity and create good jobs. The company says it has given almost $1.5 million to health-care initiatives and minority communities over the past decade. It said it contributes to Ontario’s “economic well-being” with more than 1,200 people working at its facilities in the GTA, and that it believes strongly in helping immigrants “find work and build their futures in Canada.” It also said it uses strict criteria when choosing temp agencies to work with. They can produce 2 million bagels alone per day.įiera said health and safety is a “core principle,” in response to questions from the Star. Its factories churn out baked goods by the truckload, destined for markets across North America and around the world. Sara Mojtehedzadehįiera’s current clients include some of the continent’s biggest brands including Dunkin’ Donuts and Sobeys over the years it has made pastries for Costco, Tim Hortons, Metro, Walmart, and Loblaw. ![]() She describes the pace of the work as crushing. When they do, statistics show they are more likely to get hurt on the job.ĭuring her undercover stint at Fiera Foods Sara Mojtehedzadeh worked on the croissant production line. Its health and safety record is checkered three temps have died here or at Fiera’s affiliated companies since 1999.Īcross the province, more and more people are relying on temp agencies to find work. The factory relies heavily on temporary help agency workers. No one talks through the noise and exhaustion. They shout at us to move faster, pinch nicer, work harder. These may well be the croissants you eat for breakfast. We are forming and packing raw, circular pastry dough into wet plastic trays - a shoulder-crunching task called pinching. It is my first day as a temp at Fiera Foods, an industrial bakery that reeks of yeast and is alive with the constant drone of machinery. They collect in bloated masses at our feet. The floor is strewn with raw pastries that seem to accumulate faster than anyone can sweep them up. There are two dozen of us crowded around a conveyor belt, bodies twisting to snatch dough off the line.
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