Our Client is an immigration law firm in Toronto.  They operate a foreign worker service providing for low skilled workers in Canada.  These workers are aptly suited to deliver newspapers for your company directly or for your distributors. 

The Program works like this

The Federal government has opened the borders of Canada to accept various types of foreign workers that are able to come and work in Canada for predetermined periods of time.  Providing that they have successfully passed the entrance requirements of immigration Canada and the type of job they are coming to fill is difficult to recruit for using Canadian manpower.  A market study must be presented that the job for which they are coming to fill is difficult to fill with Canadian workers and a shortage of such workers is present.  It sounds like the newspaper distribution business to me.

Scroll to the bottom to download the Immigrant Workers ROI Worksheet

My Client Provides

1.             Local offices in the countries where recruitment is taking place; currently Jamaica. 

2.             Recruit and screen for Canadian government standards and also for the type of job they will be doing once they arrive.  In the case of newspapers all workers must have a valid driver’s license and a vehicle when they show up for work.

3.             Completes all legal paperwork and gets the worker approved by the federal government and obtains them a work permit in Canada under this program and handles the presentation to the federal government of the case study supporting the qualification for the application to bring in foreign workers.

4.             Books flights and ensures transport of workers to Canada to the designated worker city of need and presents them for work to the employer.

5.             Assists the immigrant worker in securing housing in the local city.

6.             Insures the health of the worker for 90 days from their arrival to Canada.

 Program Restrictions

1.             The worker is only able to work for one company while here and is not able to attend any schooling or work for any other company in any capacity.

2.             The worker is covered by provincial medical insurance plans after having lived in the country for three months.  The initial three months are covered through the immigration company.

3.             The worker is allowed to stay in Canada for a maximum of 24 months under the working terms of the company for which they were hired for.

4.             Labour code rules still apply.  However, since the worker is not allowed to do anything but work they are legally allowed to work up to 6 days and 60 hours during a week.  Instead of 5 and 40 which is the normal labour standard.  They must have one day off per week.

5.             They come in groups of four.  Either four males or four females but not a mixture.  They will be sharing housing together in order for rental costs to make fiscal sense there must be four.

  Employer Expectations

 1.             The employer must guarantee full time work at 40 hours at minimum wage on a salary basis plus the cost to use their own vehicle.  The employer incurs the regular federal payroll burden just like any other employee.  I am suggesting a target of $400/ week salary.

2.             The employer may terminate the employee under regular employment standards with cause or for any cause as long as severance is covered as per labour law.  This however, will be different for this worker because they are not allowed to work for anyone else, so they will be immediately returned to their country at their expense.

3.             The company may also withhold the first two weeks of pay from the worker for the duration of the 24 month term if the worker has to be returned to their country under duress or involuntarily the money withheld can be used to pay for that trip.  Otherwise the money is due to them up on satisfactory completion of their obligations.

 There are two ways to proceed with this program

 1.             The newspaper or distributor can order the workers and pay an up front fee of $3000 per worker.  Plus the full time job guarantee of $400/wk plus vehicle and payroll burdens paid directly to the worker and administered directly by the newspaper or distributor.   There is an additional $600 for the employee medical insurance coverage for three months.  The total fee is payable 50% with the order and 50% upon delivery of the workers.

OR

2.             The newspaper or distributor signs a 24 month contract with D.L. Adams and Associates Ltd. No fees are payable up front to secure the workers.   DLA then leases back these employees to work for your newspaper or distributor directly.  The newspaper or distributor client will pay an all inclusive weekly leasing fee of $800 per worker plus GST under a standard leasing contract.  This amount includes the payroll burden, insurances, WCB and salary guarantee.  Vehicle expenses are in addition to the salary and can be paid directly to DLA on behalf of the worker.

The workers will report to local newspaper or distributor management for work and will administer the needs of management at their assigned location.  DLA will pay the workers all directly and administer all their liabilities, including the responsibility to return them to their originating country either upon termination or the end of the contract period.  DLA will also source and supply any replacements or new workers as required.

Bonus Training and Communications
 with Option 2

If you select option TWO as a method of accepting foreign worker recruitment.  DLA will put each incoming worker through a three hour Carrier Training Seminar complete with a customized carrier handbook (which the newspaper or distributor will supply custom content for).  The carrier will need to complete the seminar understand the standards and requirments and pass a written exam with a minimum of 80%.  They will take the tests again correcting thier mistakes until they pass. 

Each worker will be equiped with a cellular telephone for direct communication as well as the receiving of email for work related instructions.  They will come to work with these tools ready to go and a signed Standards Agreement in lieu of a direct contract with the distributor or newspaper.  These workers will have a contract for employment with DLA but will ahere to the expectations of local management standards.

Benefits

There is no limit to the number of workers you can order.  As a seasoned newspaper circulation executive I can only wish that this opportunity was as liberal 20 years ago as it is now. (Federal Government recently increased the length of time available to stay in Canada from 8 months to 24 months)  This increase in time allowed to stay makes the cost of acquisition a lot more feasible.  The cost of recruiting new carriers, plus their training, and placement on routes was very expensive.  Not to mention the loss in complaint ratios during the transfer period.  Only to have them quit just a soon as something better came along – it was very frustrating.  These problems still exist now in varying degrees across the country.  This is a program that could work for everyone.

These workers are here ready able and willing to work and can only work for you.  Almost all the workers are family men that are here to work and send money back home to their loved ones.  For them this is an opportunity to earn far more money than they could in their own country.  Your choice in using them to work distributing newspapers is a very good way for them to earn substantial money for thier families.

Finances

We have created a spreadsheet to determine the costs associates with hiring workers with this programs.  The spreadsheet compares the costs of both programs as well as comparing the regular route profit against the costs of the programs

Please down load a copy for free and review the various comments and notes on the spreadsheet to complete the needed information.  Fill the values into the green areas and the rest should calculate the real costs.

Large metro markets may make sense using carrier route profits, however, not all market have those higher profit rates.  When down routes or open route bonues are calculated into the equation the most common result is an improved bottom line and a stabalized turnover situation.

Additional Uses for Workers

If the numbers don't work out a positive business case on regular route profits.  Then consider using the workers as a special down route force or only for very expensive trouble shooting and no shows. 

Use the same carriers to handle on call redeliveries, handle substitution work and charge back the existing carrier at a premium. Put the new workers on the routes with high subsidies.  High subsidy routes are already costing extra money to float a route that nobody wants.  Use the same subsidy money to pay for the weekly lease of these immigrant workers.  It’s not new money, it’s the same money as you are spending now except you will take the risk out of the customer service loses and the dependency on carrier benevolence coming to work each night.

Consider the recruitment time savings, advertising and personal management investment to keep the system filled with new workers?  If you could reduce District Management expenses by even 20% that cost would cover the difference and the route complaint ratios would never be interrupted.

Typical Problems

If your operation is typical, and I’m not saying it is… but if it was typical… about 20% of the routes cause 80% of the problems.  If you replaced 20% of the carriers that use newspaper delivery as a secondary income stream hoping to get a few extra bucks and hold it in a low priority in their lives and instead put on dedicated carriers that can only work for you as part of their visa status and this is their PRIMARY income stream to help support their families back home… I can only imagine they would be substantially more motivated and clearly more reliable than what you are currently paying a subsidy to receive.  Let alone the substantial reduction in distribution management and delivery quality impacts.

Imagine having a constant stream of retained workers, dedicated to just your business, under contract, coming in groups of four every couple of weeks without spending more than you are now.  In my opinion this is a District Managers dream.

Smaller Newspapers or TMC Newspapers

Some smaller newspapers may not have the carrier profit rate per paper to support distribution only mandates.  However, the carrier is under a salary arrangement.  If workers are required in the mailroom for inserting or for redeliveries, special product sampling delivery.  They can simply be moved around to multiple tasks to make up for the difference in addition to route profits.  They are required to work for the same company only, but the task can vary.  This is a potential for both Option 1 and Option 2.

Download the Immigrant Worker ROI Worksheet Here 

If you wish to get further details, have any questions or would like to order the first group of four, please email Dean Adams directly at dadams@dladams.com. 

It takes approximately 6 – 8 weeks to get the first crew landed and ready to work.  That means if you commit within the next 30-60 days crews can be retained and ready to work before the winter season hits.