External audit describes 'anxious and fearful' employees at immigration call centre

Employees at the federal government's immigration call centre are struggling under a demanding workload while dealing with "strict and unfair" evaluations from their superiors, according to an external audit.

The audit by Charron Human Resources, released Friday, says employees at the Montreal call centre for Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) reported having little time between calls, insufficient training, limited career development and a "strict" evaluation process that leaves them feeling "anxious and fearful."

It found the turnover rate at the centre is as high as 30 per cent, with 11 per cent of employees on leave without pay.

IRCC hired the company in March to conduct the workplace audit. It is the department's only call centre and fields immigration-related calls from across Canada and the world. 

Former employees who had previously spoken to CBC News on condition on anonymity described an office of overworked staff constantly being monitored by management — where the pressure to field as many calls as possible affected everything, even bathroom breaks.

The audit follows a damning report released last year, in which IRCC employees complained that their racialized colleagues faced repeated use of offensive terms from supervisors and other staff, and had limited opportunities for advancement.

Union concerned

The union that represents employees at IRCC, Service Canada, Employment and Social Development Canada and the Immigration and Refugee Board says it's concerned about the audit's findings.

But the Canada Employment and Immigration Union (CEIU) also says the audit did little to look into the previous reports of racism and discrimination.

"CEIU has reason to believe concerns related to racism and discrimination in the workplace were improperly addressed in the report and that additional steps need to be undertaken to have a clear and honest portrait of the situation," the union said in a statement.

The only mention of racism and discrimination in the audit is a recommendation to provide training about unconscious bias.

CBC News reached out to Charron for comment but didn't receive a response at the time of publication.

Other recommendations included introducing technology and strategies to ease the work process, providing leadership training to supervisors with a focus on employee well-being and evaluation, and establishing a staff development plan.

A statement from IRCC praised the "courage" of employees who participated in the audit, but did not explicitly indicate if it would implement the recommendations.

"The department agrees with the recommendations and is committed to providing a safe, diverse, equitable and anti-racist workplace," it said.

The union says it was not consulted by Charron about the recommendations.