Justice for Migrant Workers!
Ontario Government's Dehumanizing Plan for Migrant Agricultural Workers
There are now over 1,000 agri-farm workers, most of them
migrant workers, who have tested positive for COVID-19 in Ontario. Over
700 of these have been associated with workplaces in Leamington and
Kingsville. Over the weekend 191 new cases were confirmed by the
Windsor-Essex Public Health Unit, all of them from a single operation.
Although the health unit has not named the company, the Windsor Star
reports that it was told by a national representative of the United
Food and Commercial Workers Union that it is Nature Fresh Farms in
Leamington.
Government's New Public Health Guidance:
Work-Isolation Instead of Self-Isolation
 On
June 24, one day after calling out "farmers" for not cooperating in
getting their workers tested for COVID-19, Premier Doug Ford did a
180-degree flip. In twenty-four hours he went from blaming and pleading
with the "farmers" in Essex County to do the right thing, to praising
them for stepping up to the plate. Now, they were helping get
more of their workers tested to determine the extent of the outbreak
among agricultural workers in order to get it under control and keep it
from spreading throughout the community.
A
related about-face was his announcement that Windsor and Essex County,
with the exception of Leamington and Kingsville, would be allowed to
advance to Stage 2
reopening, a reversal of his position the day before when he said the
entire area had to remain at Stage 1 -- the only jurisdiction in the
province with that level of restrictions. That had small business
people up in arms, leading many to vent their anger against big
greenhouses going full tilt in the middle of outbreaks and resisting
having their
workers tested, while they were forced to keep their small shops and
restaurants closed and feared they might lose those businesses.
So what changed? It became apparent a deal had been struck when
Ford announced his government's three-point Plan to
Reduce Transmission on Farms and in the Community in
Windsor-Essex. The
first point calls for expanded testing at agri-food businesses and
in
the community. The second point is an attempt to provide
reassurance that no worker would lose their job if they had to
take
"unpaid sick leave" because of COVID-19, that they could apply for
workers' compensation, and some possibly even for EI or CERB. It
also
says that temporary foreign workers all have "protections like any
other worker in Ontario" under such things as the Employment Standards
Act.
 No
mention is made of the many exemptions that apply to farm workers and
more so to migrant farm workers when it comes to employment standards
and labour laws in Ontario, leaving them basically at the mercy of
their employers, without being able to unionize or bargain collectively
to have a say over their working conditions (and where
it applies, deplorable living conditions).
Point three reveals the crux of the deal the government struck with
growers to get their buy-in for mass workplace testing rather than
resisting it. A new public health guidance is introduced for the sector
that provides for "allowing" workers who test positive but are
asymptomatic to keep on working, "as long as they follow the public
health
measures in their workplace to minimize the risk of transmission to
others." Ford mused that the new rules would allow COVID-19 positive
but asymptomatic workers to continue to work, grouped together,
outside, and eating and sleeping separately from other workers.[1]
The new guidance appears to give an infected worker who does not
show or report symptoms the option of self-isolating rather than
continuing to work ("work isolate") if that is their "choice." There is
no "choice" for migrant farm workers who who came here to earn a living
to support their families at home when being off work even while
sick, for most means they will not get paid. These workers' lives are
being put at risk by the government of Ontario in keeping with the
self-serving wishes of agribusiness owners.
What is also left unspoken is that a significant section of
temporary foreign workers who work in the fields, greenhouses and
vegetable packing facilities in Essex County are undocumented workers.
They are paid under the table in cash, usually through a recruiter or
some other agent who hires them out to companies, taking their own
pound of
flesh.
These workers operating below the radar have no access to
the income supports and protections the government claims all migrant
workers enjoy if they must, or "choose" to, self-isolate rather than
continuing to work should they test positive.
Responses to Government's New Plan
 The
government's new plan was immediately praised by industry owners who
clearly played a big role in coming up with it. One of these was Peter
Quiring, president and CEO of Nature Fresh Farms that has been
identified unofficially as the site of a major outbreak of COIVD-19.
Quiring, who says approximately 360 "guest workers" are included in his
staff of around 670 workers, called the government’s new guidance
"fantastic" when
it was announced. "I was personally working with Doug Ford and Ontario
health on this, as well as many others," he said. "We really like the
conclusions that we've come to. We think this is going to work
well."
Quiring said isolating asymptomatic workers on farms and
"the fact that we can keep working" is the most important part of the
new plan. He said at the time that he was not concerned that
asymptomatic workers would transmit COVID-19 to other employees,
"because we're distancing."
Nature Fresh is the largest bell pepper
producer in North America, shipping 7 million kilograms of product a
year.
Migrant worker advocates were equally quick to respond. Syed Hussan,
executive director of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, denounced
the government and agri-food owners for treating migrants as
expendable, calling their plan "dehumanizing" and "debilitating." He said "You
would not allow your father, your son, your brother, your
mother, your sister, your daughter to be treated like this," adding that "Ontario has responded to three farmworker deaths by
signing a death warrant for more migrant workers."
Justice for Migrant Workers (J4MW) spokesperson Chris Ramsaroop
called for the agri-food industry to immediately cease production until
proper sanitation and safety measures are implemented, saying the
interests of the workers must be paramount, instead of the profits of a
billion-dollar industry.
Doctors and other health care experts have responded with
incredulity at the inhuman new guidance and the unscientific
gobbledygook being used by the government and employers to justify it.
On June 30 a group of them posted an open letter to Ontario's Chief
Officer of Medical Health on the internet calling on him to use his
powers under
the Health Protection and Promotion Act to immediately rescind
the measure. They have invited other health care professionals to sign
and share the letter. It can be found here.
Windsor-Essex Medical Officer of Health Dr. Wajid Ahmed said on June
30 that he had not cleared any of the hundreds of workers who had
tested positive and whose cases had been examined, to return to work,
whether they were asymptomatic or not. He reported that at the time
there were between 400 to 450 migrant workers in
self-isolation and said farms needed to act proactively by immediately
isolating any worker who tested positive and getting any close contacts
tested.
Then on July 1, in addition to announcing 7 new cases in
the agri-farm sector, the health unit issued an update regarding the
outbreak at an operation it did not name but is presumed to be Nature
Fresh Farms where 191 new cases were identified over the weekend. It stated:
Given the size of
this outbreak, the potential for COVID-19 transmission, and the ongoing
risk to the health and safety of the workers, Medical Officer of Health
Dr. Wajid Ahmed is issuing an order under section 22 of the Health Protection and Promotion Act (HPPA)
effective July 1. The order requires the owner/operator of the farm to
ensure the isolation of workers and prohibits them from working until
further direction. [....]
The safety and well-being of all
workers is our top priority. It is imperative that we stop the
transmission of COVID-19 in this farm and our agricultural sector. All
affected workers must be isolated and their health and wellbeing be
monitored before any return
to work can be discussed.
An official later
clarified that the order to isolate applied to all workers at the
location, not just those who had tested positive, effectively shutting
the operation down for the time being.
Note
1. The government's new guidance gives
responsibility to the local public health unit to provide direction to
workers deemed to be asymptomatic who have tested positive. It says
these workers must self-isolate or "work-isolate" if that is determined
appropriate by the health unit, for 14 days. Should symptoms develop,
they should self-isolate
for 14 days from the time of symptom onset. Close contacts of the
asymptomatic workers who are not tested can also either self-isolate or
work-isolate if that is determined appropriate by the health unit.
This article was published in
Number 46 - July 2, 2020
Article Link:
Justice for Migrant Workers!: Ontario Government's Dehumanizing Plan for Migrant Agricultural Workers
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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