UN report on Canada’s temporary foreign workers details the many ways they’ve been abused [Video]

Wage theft, excessive work hours, limited breaks and physical abuse.

Those are just some of the ways Canada’s temporary foreign workers are being mistreated, according to a final report from the United Nations’ special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery.

Reiterating his previous comments after his visit to Canada last year, special rapporteur Tomoya Obokata called the temporary foreign workers program a “breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery.”

In the final report, Obokata — a professor of international human rights law at the University of York in the U.K. — says he received reports of workers being underpaid and going without protective equipment, and of employers confiscating documents, arbitrarily cutting working hours and preventing workers from seeking health care.

“Women reported sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse,” the report says.

“In addition, police have reportedly failed to take complaints seriously, claim that they do not have jurisdiction and report workers to immigration …