Playing with the Lives of Temporary Foreign Workers in Quebec: It Must Not Pass!
In April, the help line set up by the organization, whose mission is to offer assistance to Quebec's temporary foreign agricultural workers on issues relating to immigration, health, education and francization, received close to two dozen telephone calls from foreign workers overly-solicited by their employers to make up for the slack. And although all the complaints remain anonymous, they nonetheless testify to the huge pressure being exerted on these workers by some employers in Quebec's agri-food industry. Unwarranted and unauthorized confinement measures are also being taken against some of these workers by certain employers, which only exacerbates the intolerable stress these workers are experiencing. Upon their arrival at the airport, RATTMAQ has been handing out leaflets to these Mexican and Guatemalan temporary foreign workers about COVID-19, the 14-day quarantine period they are to be immediately placed under, along with information on their rights during this period of the pandemic. In April, RATTMAQ received over twenty calls regarding disciplinary measures that had been taken against some workers for having left the farm after their 14-day quarantine was over. For example, one of these workers had decided to go out on his day off to buy food. Although he had followed the required social distancing measures, disciplinary action was taken against him because he had left the farm. "Producers are saying they're afraid COVID-19 will make its way to their farms, so they're controlling their movements. That's not okay," RATTMAQ spokesperson Michel Pilon told the media. Quebec's Union of Agricultural Producers notes in one of its newsletters that following their quarantine, workers fall under the same rules as everyone else when going outside. It adds that they have the right to leave the farm if they so desire. The employer's responsibility, it points out, is to ensure they are aware of the rules when going out, of social distancing and the risk of infection. Preventing them from going off-site, it warns, would contravene Quebec's Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW Quebec), which represents some of these workers, has also been informed that some workers have been prohibited from leaving their employer's grounds. UFCW Quebec representative Julio Lara was forced to intervene with one employer, after some workers were suspended for having left their employer's grounds.
Regarding the insufferable stress they are placed under, one example is the letter dated April 1, 2020, signed by federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu and Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough, which informs employers that "It is important that you know that penalties of up to $750,000 can be levied against a temporary foreign worker for non-compliance with an Emergency Order made under the Quarantine Act."[1] On April 22, the federal government announced it was removing the restriction allowing international students to work a maximum of 20 hours per week while classes are in session, "provided they are working in an essential service or function, such as health care, critical infrastructure, or the supply of food or other critical goods." This measure significantly increases the risk of them contracting COVID-19. In Quebec, the new measures brought in by the Legault government through its reformed Quebec Experience Program (PEQ), which came into force at the end of June, will increasingly prevent many low-skilled temporary workers and international students from being able to permanently settle in Quebec. Quebeckers and Canadians from all walks of life continue to rally to the cause of these and other essential workers for the full recognition of their rights, including permanent residency upon arrival. The jobs these workers fill are not temporary, they are recurring, with no takers in the Quebec and Canadian domestic market, because of the conditions of indentured labour attached to them. The workers who fill these recurring jobs year in, year out, must be given permanent residency upon arrival if they so desire, as must all essential workers living here whose status has not been regularized. Their rights as human beings, as well as workers, to decent and dignified working and living conditions must be recognized now. It is only by working together and organizing in defence of the rights of all that we will succeed, shoulder to shoulder, in turning their situation around. If they are good enough to work, then they are certainly good enough to stay and deserve the same rights as other Quebec workers. As essential workers, they are the ones providing care and ensuring that food is put on our tables. By speaking out and organizing with them in defence of their rights, we are also fighting for the recognition and guarantee of our own. Note1. TML Weekly, May 2, 2020, Temporary Foreign Workers Merit Permanent Residency, Not Threats! - Diane Johnston (With files from Le Devoir, RATTMAQ, TML Weekly, Government of Canada. Photos: WF, Debout pour la dignité)
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This year, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is estimated that
Quebec will only receive a maximum of 12,000 Mexican and Guatemalan
temporary foreign agricultural workers instead of the approximately
17,000 who came last year. To make up for the shortfall, huge pressure
is being exerted by some employers on those already here,
who are being asked to work 16-18 hour days. They're exhausted and even
though they may be told that they don't have to, "they're scared," says
Michel Pilon of the Quebec Migrant Agricultural Workers Help Network
(RATTMAQ).
Just
like the many other temporary foreign migrants, including refugee
claimants and international students working in Quebec's health care
sector, slaughterhouses, warehouses and in our fields, these workers'
rights are being grossly violated. Not only do they face the denial of
their rights by their employer, the Quebec and the federal
government also bear huge responsibility for their living and working
conditions and continue to turn a blind eye to their fate. Though they
are often enticed here with the possibility of being able to
settle permanently, the decks continue to be stacked against them
through constant arbitary changes to immigration policy by
both the Quebec and federal governments.