Conditions of Migrant Workers
Temporary Foreign Agricultural Workers Increasingly at Risk
- Diane Johnston -
"This year, more and more agricultural workers are being approached
by recruiters in the rare public spaces they frequent, such as grocery
stores, fast food places or parks" an article published in Le Devoir on
July 29 points out. The authors of the article are Danièle
Bélanger and Guillermo Candiz, respectively professor and
post-doctoral
researcher at Laval University; Michel Pilon and Véronique
Tessier, Director General and Coordinator of the Quebec office of the Support
Network for Migrant Agricultural Workers in Quebec (RATTMAQ); and
Eugénie Depatie-Pelletier, President of the Association for the
Defence of Rights of Household and Farm Domestic Staff (ADDPD). For
many of these workers, the labour shortage and the pandemic are
contributing to the creation of "even more onerous living and working
conditions than in past years."
 Added
to this, the fact that their work permit is closed (they cannot change
employers) "creates a relationship of dependence resulting in many
suffering from abuse." The authors' own fieldwork and the many
interventions made by their organizations attest to the fact that for
many workers, "psychological harassment, non-payment of holidays,
non-declared work accidents, dismissals without reasonable grounds and
the confiscation of personal documents" are common occurrences.
And even though in 2019 the federal government created a program so
that the victims of abuse could apply for an open work permit in order
to change employers, the procedure is complex and requires the
assistance of skilled intervenors. Moreover, the fear of being
denounced by an employer and the potential repercussions prevents many from taking that route.
Their great vulnerability and lack of recourse, the authors point
out, opens the door to the creation of networks that recruit
workers to be employed under the table, a market stimulated by glaring
shortages in certain sectors. "This vicious circle, already
well-developed in Europe, Asia and the U.S., is now making inroads in
Canada and
Quebec," they write.
Such recruiters offer a job and housing to those daring enough to
leave their workplace and go underground, which may appear particularly
attractive to workers who acquired debt in order to come to Canada
and are having difficulty paying off what they owe.
Added to all this are these workers' situation of isolation, restrictions on their movement and difficult housing and
working conditions, which may provide enough incentive for some to
decide to go underground in hopes of improving their lot. By doing so,
however, they run the risk of expulsion and an even more abusive
work environment.
 The
authors note that the closing of borders in the context of the pandemic
may also contribute to the development of trafficking networks, that
approach foreign workers and offer to smuggle them into the U.S., with
the lure of better paid jobs or more freedom of movement. However, some
workers in the Quebec City area who have accepted
offers from traffickers for which they paid around $5,000, have been
intercepted by the RCMP, while others have been apprehended by police
in the U.S.
Fernand Borja, General Director of the Foundation for Foreign
Agricultural Worker Recruitment (FERME), has reported that as of the
beginning of August, 53 temporary foreign workers, mainly from
Guatemala, have left their Quebec employer in 2021 and that "[i]f this
continues, it will be a record year."
While most of these workers head to the U.S., some also go to
Ontario, where there is a high concentration of greenhouse vegetable
production.
Michel Pilon notes that "fraudsters are very active and we see this
phenomenon growing." He adds that just a few weeks ago, four
agricultural workers were intercepted on the U.S. side and were
returned to Canada. To his knowledge, this happened to some 20 people
in 2021.
The existence of closed work permits, the authors say, leads to
further precariousness which, within the present context, gives rise to
unregulated and dangerous situations for these workers.
The quicker these foreign workers are provided open work permits on
the Canadian and Quebec labour markets, "the more the risk of them
falling into the hands of fraudulent networks, where their lives and
their integrity are endangered, is reduced."
Based on Canadian government figures, approximately 50,000 to 60,000
foreign agricultural workers come to work in Canada each year, which
accounts for around 60 per cent of all workers who may enter Canada
under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Over 41,000 workers have
arrived to date in 2021.
 "The
Government of Canada takes the safety and dignity of foreign workers
very seriously. Everyone deserves a work environment where they are
safe and their rights are respected," boasted Canadian Immigration
Minister Marco Mendicino in a July 26 press release announcing "new
regulatory amendments" aimed at "[i]mproving protections
for temporary foreign workers by mandating employers to provide
temporary foreign workers with information about their rights in
Canada; prohibiting reprisal by employers against workers who come
forward with complaints; and, putting into regulation key requirements
for all employers to provide reasonable access to health-care services,
and
for employers to provide health insurance when needed. The proposed
changes would also prohibit the charging of recruitment fees to
workers, and hold employers accountable for the actions of recruiters
in this regard."
Almost two years into the pandemic and such measures are only being
announced now? What else can be expected from a government ready to
"sell them down the river" for personal and class gain? This expression,
which originates from the slave trade, continues to be the reality
facing these workers.
Human beings are society's most precious asset and the contribution
these workers have always made, pandemic or not, merits full and
permanent immigration status for themselves and their families.
Let's go all out to make this a reality!
This article was published in
August 16, 2021 - No. 70
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2021/Articles/WO08702.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
|
