Justice for Migrant Workers
Defence Organization Justicia for Migrant Workers Demands Protection for All Ontario Farm Workers
Organizations active in defending migrant workers
are
stepping up their fight in defence of all farm workers. The most
vulnerable farm workers are the over 60,000 seasonal and temporary
workers who come to Canada each year to work in the agriculture
industry. Many arrive through federal programs such as the Seasonal
Agricultural
Worker Program (SAWP).
In March, the federal government granted farmers
the
ability to hire migrant workers throughout the pandemic, so long as the
workers self-isolate for two weeks upon arrival. This condition,
,however, does not apply to those deemed essential by public health
officials. This means that some migrant workers are forced to work
during their
period of self-isolation. The federal government also shamefully washed
its hands of the responsibility to ensure the ways and means through
which migrant farm workers can practice social distancing at work and
in their lodgings. Migrant farm workers typically live in inadequate
housing that is shared by a large number of workers. In spite of
this, the federal government has decreed that farm businesses, in
conjunction with the provinces, are the best positioned to provide
adequate lodging.
Migrant farmworkers prepare to leave Jamaica for their jobs on Canadian
farms.
On May 1, Justicia for Migrant Workers (J4MW)
wrote to
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, and to the members of the Ontario Command
Table for COVID-19, to demand that urgent and immediate steps be taken
by the Ontario government to protect farm workers. [1]
The letter says: "Justicia for Migrant Workers
(J4MW) is
writing to request urgent and immediate action is taken to protect the
thousands of agricultural workers employed in the province of Ontario.
With recent reports that there have been confirmed cases at two large
farming operations, Highline Mushrooms and Greenhill Produce, it is
imperative that the province responds.
 "J4MW
is asking what steps will the province undertake to protect the
interests of farm workers, and to protect the food supply chain. We
urge the province to immediately suspend any agricultural workplace
from operating until the workplace is fully sanitized and the workers
are provided with full Personal Protective Equipment while at
work. Furthermore workers should be paid full wages during the
sanitization process. Finally it is imperative that Ministry of Labour
inspectors extend their inspections to include bunkhouses and all
agricultural dwellings provided to farm workers. Finally it is also
critical that the province develop a COVID-19 action plan to protect
workers
specifically in agriculture.
"J4MW is urging that the provincial government and
the
Ministry of Labour undertake immediate steps to eliminate blatant
discrimination against farm workers so that all farm workers can be
protected from the spread of the pandemic. These steps include:
- "Extend
the wage boost to include farm workers in Ontario [wage
boost refers to wage increase and special bonuses that the Ontario
government granted to some of the workers providing front-line services
during the pandemic for which farm workers are not eligible - WF Note]
- Provide an
expedited
appeals process for migrant workers when filing complaints with respect
to occupational health and safety and employment standards complaints.
- Migrant farm
workers should be provided the ability to work so that they are not
tied to a single employer.
- Extend
occupational health and safety legislation to include agricultural
dwellings.
- Strengthen
anti-reprisal
protections to ensure workers are not fired for raising health and
safety concerns or if they become sick or injured at work.
- Develop
regulations to
protect workers from heat stress, chemical or pesticide. exposure,
confined spaces, working at heights and other occupational hazards.
- Increase
proactive and snap inspection on all farming operations across Ontario
- Provide hazard
pay, sick pay and other benefits to recognize the dangers associated
with agricultural work.
- Recognize
piece rate as an occupational health and safety hazard.
 -
Develop and implement occupational health and safety legislation that
recognizes, race, racism, systemic discrimination and provides an
equity analysis in determining which categories of workers are at
greater risk of occupational hazards.
- Communicate
what protocols
the WSIB has in place to isolate infected workers (and protect
uninfected workers) if there is an outbreak in the bunkhouse or
workplace.
- End employer
wage
deductions for all personal protective equipment and develop
regulations that ensure employers provide bathrooms, washing facilities
and potable water for farm workers across Ontario.
- Strengthen
migrant worker protection against recruitment fees by holding employers
and recruiters jointly liable.
- End the
exclusions to
holiday pay, overtime pay, minimum hours of work provisions and the
myriad of regulations that deny fairness to farmworkers."
JAMW points out that these measures are
longstanding
requests that farm workers have been bringing forward for decades. It
says that to stamp out the spread of this pandemic, it is critical that
structural changes are made to address the systemic power imbalances
that exist in the fields.
"These structural inequities in agriculture work
are
exacerbated under the twin forces of the pandemic and harvesting
pressures. It has therefore never been more imperative to provide the
workers with all the rights and protections. Farm employers are
receiving several benefits in the form of subsidies and other grants
and other regulatory
exemptions. It is time that the workers receive the benefits that are
due to them and are valued for their essential labour, " says the
letter in conclusion.
Note
1. The
Ontario Command Table for
COVID-19 was set up by the Ontario government at the beginning of
March. According to the government, the Command Table is the "single
point of oversight providing executive leadership and strategic
direction to guide Ontario's response to COVID-19.
" The Command Table reports to the Minister of Health. It is chaired by
the Deputy Minister of Health, and includes Ontario's Chief Medical
Officer of Heath, Ontario Health's President and Chief Executive
Officer, and has representation from Public Health Ontario, the
Ministry of Long-Term Care and Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills
Development.
This article was published in
Number 31 - May 5, 2020
Article Link:
Justice for Migrant Workers: Defence Organization Justicia for Migrant Workers Demands Protection for All Ontario Farm Workers
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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