Do I have a bad attitude with immigrants' attitude?

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I was wondering if I do cause my friend says I do.

Basically I was working a job that employed a few hundred of them at least and I there were a lot of labor rules being broken by the company, particular concerning the bathroom shortage, which I talked about in this previous thread:

viewtopic.php?t=360994

I felt like only the workers who were born here in my country Canada, were the only ones who cared about the problem and that was a very select few. The majority were immigrants. Now I got nothing against immigration at all, it's just their attitude towards the problem made me think less of them. They just treat bad working conditions that violate labor rules like that, like it's nothing, and they are happy to be there still.

My friend said the job is heaven to where they come from and some of the countries they come from (which I perhaps should not name at this point if it's not appropriate), my friend says the conditions their are so bad that this job is heaven compared to that.

But just because it's heaven to them, why do they have to not take the issue seriously and by doing so, the violation of the labor laws is never fixed as a result.

My friend says that they are too afraid to get on board to complain about something like that, cause they were brought up in a world of fear, but from if the government conditions in their home countries is as aweful as my friend describes, then wouldn't they have a reason not to be as afraid to rise up against a problem here, compared to there?

So I just think they are too delusional about how heavenly the place really is and have issues, but my friend says I am being too judgmental on their attitude, and I if I saw their point of view, I would agree with their fear of taking all the crap. But would I though I'm thinking...

But he says I am too judgmental of their attitude. Do you think so?

You don't seem to be willing to see things from their perspective.

Yes, to them it's not a big deal compared to other things they've had to deal with in their lives.

Calling them delusional is too much, that's where you pass in to having a bad attitude.

If they've come from totalitarian regimes then yes they are going to keep their head down and stay out of what they feel is a petty issue.

It's just a different perspective.

They also can't see your point of view though, that they do actually have a right to complain and can fix the bathroom issue.

Maybe sharing experiences of better places you've worked will help them see that by Canadian standards you've all got a raw deal with this particular aspect of your company and it can be improved.

Well I guess I just feel like if they have finally found their dream job why cover up labor laws being broken? I feel that by covering things up like that, that they are exacerbating the problem for everyone, and that is why I think their attitude is bad cause they are making working conditions like this, worse for other people who work there.

Perhaps thinking they are delusional is too much yes, but if they are happy then that's good. But why does their happiness have to come at a price of not wanting to fix a problem for everyone else, if that makes sense or is that fair?

How are they suppose to know that they can complain? In some countries the rules say one thing but nobody follows them.

Well when I found out about this toilet problem I looked up the labor laws and found out that I could complain just by reading some law files.

I mean don't they want to read the laws and rules of their rights and all that to see what their legal rights are?

It's not that they don't think it's terrible, or that there aren't rules, it's more a fear of drawing too much attention to themselves and potentially ending up being deported, because odds are they immigrated illegally and any investigation would bring that up in their eyes. I say they're likely illegal, because due to how broken the system is in some countries, the only way someone immigrates legally (from a place that is bad enough that they had to leave) is if they knew right people within the country that they originated from, something the common person wouldn't have. So something like a bathroom issue is nowhere near worth getting thrown back into the same place they ran from in the first place, and quitting really isn't an option either, because they might be supporting someone else and can't afford to go too long without an income looking for a better job.

Oh okay, I had no idea that they were all hear illegally, or the majority of them. Wouldn't the company want to check that though? I mean doesn't it look bad for a reputable company if the majority of their workers are hear illegally? But then again they let the bathroom problem go by and own it, so maybe they don't care about looking bad in general?

How do you know that they are all immigrants?
If they are all immigrants, are they literate enough in English or French to research labour laws?
If they are all immigrants I truly doubt that they are all illegal immigrants.
What did you do to correct the washroom problems?
Do you still work there?

I quit there recently and was talking about the situation with my friend which is how the conversation came up.

I talked to a lot of the co-workers about themselves and they all said they were from Asia. Even the ones I did not ask, they all still talked with accents as if English was not their first language so I presumed they were all from Asia as well originally.

As far as what they do to correct the washroom problems, nothing.

In many of the brutally feudal Central American 'banana republics', campesinos complaints over pay and working conditions might get you dragged out of bed at 3:00 AM and your family publicly gang-raped, tortured, and murdered by a death squad trained at the 'School of the Americas' in Columbus, GA at American taxpayer expense on behalf of big American corporations like Dole and DelMonte. Why do you think they're called 'banana republics'?
Considering the milieu in which they grew up, if they're a bit reticent about complaining about bathroom breaks, it's perfectly understandable.

Well I just feel like the bathroom sever over population problem is affecting everyone, and by not complaining, they are choosing to be part of the problem, rather than solving it.

I don't think any of them come from 'banana republics' though, as they are all Asian and African.

I understand that they come from a harsher place, but still, that doesn't you should choose to be part of a separate problem, rather than help solve it I think.

I don't believe in the idea, that "these people deserve to make a problem worse for everyone else, just because they've been through this in the past" in the past sort of thing.

I don't think it grants them a 'be part of the problem free card', especially when those problems they had before they left behind in their pasts and don't have to worry about that anymore. Is that bad of me to think like that?

Yes, it is bad for you to project your problems onto them and expect them to help solve your problems.

But the problem is not just my problem, it's everyone's problem, so I think it's up to everyone to help make it better for one another, rather than let it get worse for everyone. It's just not mine.

Everyone suffers from there not being enough toilets for huge line ups of workers wanting to use them, and everyone there should complain. But they don't and the reason why they don't my friend says is because they are immigrants.

Last edited by ironpony on 11 Jan 2019, 2:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.

As an immigrant, this right here is a common thing that comes up that is quite irritating.

When you're an immigrant, no matter what point you are at, there is always that fear that it can all be taken away. Regardless of whether you just arrived last week or have been around for a few years and have gotten your citizenship, that could potentially all be taken away if there's a run-in with the law or some other issue. So I personally wouldn't blame them for the attitude they are taking.

Okay, but what makes them think they will be taken away though? If you immigrate to a country is there actually a law that you will be deported if you complain about a health and safety labor issue at work? Cause I looked it up, and I found no such law that immigrants will be deported for reporting health codes being violated.

So is it true then they will?

And I don't mean to come off as irritating or anything I am just trying to make them want to believe that 'hey it's okay, we can have better healthy bathroom conditions if you want them, and we probably do want them, right?"

Unless of course, I'm wrong, and it's not okay? Cause I cannot find any law that says you will be deported for reporting a health code being violated in the workplace.

Plus I assume that deporting someone back is a decision that has to be made by a judge right. A judge knows that they complaining about a health code violation in the workplace is not legally grounds for deportation and therefore cannot make that decision legally, and most judges would think it was stupid to be even asked to do that for that reason.

Did YOU do anything to correct the washroom problem?