L'anglais seulement

August 24, 2004
Editor, The Toronto Star
One Yonge Street, Toronto

Dear Editor:

Re: August 14th article "Work Agency Protects Immigrants and Youth"

I am writing to you on behalf of The Association of Canadian Search, Employment and Staffing Services (ACSESS) in response to the article printed in the Toronto Star on August 14th, 2004. The article, "Work Agency Protects Immigrants and Youth" paints an inaccurate and unfair account of employment agency obligations under current legislation leaving readers with the impression that employment agencies exploit immigrants and youth by not providing statutory holiday and vacation pay to temporary employees.

ACSESS is a well-respected national association representing members in the staffing industry. The purpose of ACSESS is to promote a full understanding of our industry and its practices by regular liaison with governments, the public and our members. The ACSESS Code of Ethics requires that all member companies observe the highest principles of integrity, professionalism and fair practice; and respect, and adhere to all relevant human rights and employment legislation.

ACSESS currently has a combined membership of 270 corporate entities and represents over 1000 branches across Canada. It is estimated that ACSESS represents over 80 percent of total industry volume.

We would like to stress that our members in Ontario, comprised of small and large, multinational firms in the industry provide numerous benefits to their employees and in many cases have policies thatexceed minimum employment standards. We acknowledge that our industry is self-regulated, and it is for this reason that the principles contained in our Code of Ethics were designed to protect the interests of candidates, temporary employees, and client organizations, as well as the reputation of the employment and staffing services profession in Canada.

Our association would like to request that your paper print a follow up article, one that will provide a more balanced, fair assessment of our members and their role as reputable employers. And, most importantly, we wish to convey to your readers that they can contact ACSESS if they are being treated unfairly or improperly by the staffing firm they work for. A major goal of our association is to promote dignity and respect among workers and to help rather than hinder the move to full-time employment

We thank you for your consideration of this matter and look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Amanda Curtis
Executive Director
Association of Canadian Search, Employment and Staffing Services