Vietnamese mill workers moved

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Sixteen Vietnamese men were moved out of Port Alberni this weekend after they were discovered living in deplorable conditions.

The men said they paid $30,000 to come to Canada to work at the SAN Group’s remanufacturing mill on Stamp Avenue, and were promised accomodations and $30 an hour.

Once they got here they say they were paid $18 an hour with no overtime pay, and were crammed into a trailer with two dozen other men with no running water, and had to pay $350 a month rent for a single bedroll in a shared bedroom.

Local social service agencies heard about the workers, and Major Michael Ramsay of the local Salvation Army brought in some help.

San Group’s Technical Manager Raz Hanif says he knows nothing about how the workers came here, blaming an immigration consultant who arranged the transfer.

“There was another guy, Don who is the subcontractor, we deal with him, but I don’t know where the main contract is, like how much they get paid and all the stuff,” he said. “I don’t look after that but there was no deal with them that we provide accomodation and stuff like that.”