Housing Conditions for Temporary Migrant Agricultural Workers in B.C. - 2007
Letter
of protest by migrant workers in BC
April 2006
BC
provincial government is violating Canada Health Act
March 2006
Resources:
NEW J4MW ARTICLE:
Harvest of Injustice:
The Oppression of Migrant Workers on Canadian Farms
by Adriana Paz
BC SAWP Guidelines for Employers
2007 [PDF]
What is the Seasonal Agrucultural Workers Program (SAWP) [PDF]?
Justicia
for Migrant Workers:
Reflections on the Importance of Community Organising
By Evelyn Encalada Grez [PDF]
Oct 2007 - Housing Conditions for Temporary Migrant Agricultural Workers in B.C.
J4MW
BC Report
Success!!
CBSA and Force Four Force Entertainment have confirmed that
footage from the Reality TV Raid on March 13 won’t be broadcast!
A recent Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) memo cites “negative public response.” Thank you to everyone who signed petitions, endorsed letters, wrote and called the producers and broadcasters, spread the word
and took action!
Diana Thompson, an Indigenous woman whose husband Tulio Renan Hernandez
was filmed and has since been deported to Honduras, says “We all feel
extremely relieved by the news and are grateful to everyone who spoke out. We want this episode and the whole show cancelled.”
Links:
Canada Border Services Agency slaps restrictions on documentary film shoot
By Douglas Quan, Postmedia News May 3, 2013
WEB, PDF
We did it! One episode of Border Security down!
http://noii-van.resist.ca/?p=5638
Amnesty International Blasts Reality TV Raids
March 21, 2013
"The divergence between the goals of a government agency and a TV production company calls into serious question the ethics of such a collaboration. "
"Force Four Entertainment should not be granted express government permission to reap economic benefits from the human suffering and family breakup that are very often caused by immigration detention and deportation."
Open Letter to The Honourable Vic Toews:
http://www.amnesty.ca/news/open-letters/open-letter-to-the-honourable-vic-toews
Border agency broke law with reality TV self-promotion, says BC Civil Liberties Association
March 21, 2013
Rights watchdog files federal privacy complaint as diverse social justice, labour and migrant groups come together to oppose exploitation of vulnerable people for entertainment.
http://bccla.org/news/2013/03/border-agency-broke-law-with-reality-tv-self-promotion-says-bccla/
J4MW BC Statement in Response to "Reality TV Raids" Targeting Migrant Workers in Vancouver
March 15, 2013 (Update below:)
In response to the recent raids conducted in Vancouver by the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) in conjunction with a reality TV show called "Border Security: Canada's Front Line" J4MW BC would like to express our outrage and disgust.
The lives, well being, and basic human rights to due process, dignity and privacy, of workers of color and their families are at stake when faced by CBSA raids. To trivialize this and turn it into mediocre entertainment pandering to the racist right wing of the country is plain obscene. Both the CBSA and the corporate entity behind the show, Force Four Entertainment, are engaging in a despicable partnership for propaganda purposes that should be illegal and is morally repugnant.
CBSA and the show's producers have crossed a line here. We join in solidarity will all migrant and immigrant workers, and workers of color - documented or not, permanent or temporary - and with their families and allies in Canada in calling for the cancellation of this show, and for an end to CBSA workplace raids and all harassment, persecution, and scapegoating of migrant workers.
Update: March 16
It has been revealed that the Conservative government, specifically Public Safety Minister Vic Toews and the Prime Minister's Office, approved of the Reality TV raids.
This confirms the propagandistic nature of the partnership between CBSA and the show, and reinforces the need to expose it to the public and have the show cancelled and the raids ended.
It further evidences the anti-migrant, racist agenda of Stephen Harper's government and the racist right wing faction that backs it. It falls on heels of the recent announcement that the federal government will officially steal from temporary migrant workers by continuing to deduct EI contributions from their pay while making them ineligible to receive any benefits (see below).
We reaffirm our call for solidarity with migrant workers and their families, and for an end to their targeting, scapegoating and harassment by the Conservative government and its enforcement agencies.
Sign this petition calling for the cancellation of the show:
https://www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/national-geographic-channel-deportation-is-not-entertainment-cancel-the-reality-show-border-security-3
Post your opinions on this matter on the official Facebook pages of the show and its producers:
http://www.facebook.com/bordertvcanada
http://www.facebook.com/ForceFourEntertainment
Background Story:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2013/03/14/bc-immigration-raids-reality-tv.html
ATTN: ALL NEWS EDITORS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Migrant rights activists denounce Canada’s Federal Government for stripping away Employment Insurance benefit for migrant workers
December 10, 2012
(Toronto) Migrant worker advocates are angered and shocked to learn that the Federal Government is once again attacking one of Canada’s most vulnerable populations.
Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Diane Finley announced on December 6th the elimination of Employment Insurance (EI) special benefits (parental, maternal and compassionate benefits) for migrant workers employed under Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker program. The minister failed to report that these workers will continue to pay into this social protection fund, as they have been doing so since 1966, yet now will no longer be able to collect these benefits.
Migrant workers perform back-breaking dangerous jobs and pay into government social protection programs yet they are consistently denied the benefits of such programs. It is estimated that migrant workers have contributed $ 3.4 million annually into Canada's Employment Insurance scheme. However it was not until 2002 that some migrant workers started to access special benefits. Over the last ten years, workers from the Caribbean and Mexico have benefited from parental benefits to provide much needed support for their newly born children. By eliminating this benefit the federal government is in fact eliminating one of the few income supports that are available to migrant workers employed under Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Programs.
Junior Sylvester a twelve year veteran of the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program says “The elimination of these special benefits violates the nature of the Employment Insurance act that was put into place to protect our families and our children from falling into poverty".
“For over forty years migrant workers have been subsidizing Canada’s EI fund yet have been ‘ineligible’ to receive full benefits, and now they are being completely stripped away from the few special benefits they were able to access. This is completely unjust and outrageous” says Justicia for Migrant Workers’ organizer Adriana Paz Ramirez. Given this situation, Paz Ramirez states that “the fight right now should be to restore this benefit and to fully include migrant workers into social protection programs rather than eliminating access and reinforcing a system that perpetuates exclusion and marginalization of migrant workers”.
For more information please call Chris Ramsaroop at 647-834-4932 or email at j4mw.on@gmail.com.
-30-
Purewal blueberry farm didn't report injured worker's accident
CBC News
Posted: Aug 2, 2012
One of North America's largest blueberry farms is being accused of failing to report a serious injury.
An elderly Indo-Canadian farmworker said his knee was mangled and he ingested pesticides in an accident at the Purewal Blueberry Farms Ltd. blueberry field in Pitt Meadows.
Gurdev Khakh, 68, said he was hit by a pesticide trailer that tipped over onto him in April.
Speaking in Punjabi, Khakh told CBC News that the trailer tipped over onto to him as he was walking beside it.
Gurdev Khakh, 68, said he was hit by a pesticide trailer that tipped over in a Purewal Blueberry Farms field in April. (CBC)
He said he shouted for help: "I'm dying, I'm dying."
Khakh's leg was twisted back, his knee was dislocated, and his shoulder was crushed. He said that as the pesticides spilled onto him, he unintentionally ingested them.
"Who knows how dangerous it was. It made my stomach queasy," he said.
Khahk said he was taken by a supervisor to the security office, but an ambulance wasn't called for two hours. Khahk also said his employer failed to report the accident to WorkSafeBC, as required by law.
Khakh spent a month in hospital and now uses a walker to get around. He has now filed a claim for compensation.
History: Purewal workplace safety violations:
1999: Eight violations cited after a worker died. The farm promised to report future safety violations.
2002: WorkSafeBC found nine violations at the farm.
2008: A worker was injured but the farm failed to investigate, resulting in two more violations
2012: WorkSafeBC found another violation after a worker was injured by a co-worker.
Source: WorkSafeBC
Charan Gill, founding president of the Progressive Intercultural Community Services Society, said his organization is helping Khakh with the claim.
"Hopefully, WorkSafe will investigate and get at the truth. I think its a true story about a worker who is suffering, who is so dependent he has no money and is still living at their cabins."
After being contacted by CBC, Gary Purewal said the farm didn't see a need to report the accident to WorkSafeBC.
[J4MW note: regardless of Purewal's excuse, fact is the company is obligated by law to report workplace accidents, and in this case they are clearly breaking the law]
He said that Khakh has been collecting his full pay, plus an extra $5,000 while recovering from his injuries.
Khakh told CBC News that he has been getting nothing.
*******************************
In 2007 J4MW visited Purewal farms and found shocking housing conditions for South Asian and Mexican workers. At the time Purewal was removed from the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program after inspectors discovered violations of housing standards. J4MW wrote a report on housing conditions for migrant workers that documented the situation at Purewal:
Purewal Blueberry Farms, Pitt Meadows BC, 2005:
Housing type: multi bedroom converted house on farm property, as well as temporary housing trailers.
Number of Workers housed: approximately 50
Concerns: unheated trailers, outside open air cooking facilities, enough hot water for only 2 people to have a shower at a time, up to 6 workers in bunks per bedroom, only 1 washing machine, no working clothes dryer (clothes had to be hung up to dry on bunk beds or outside due to lack of space), garbage and wrecked cars dumped around house, one working bathroom for the entire house and trailers, un-maintained and unusable portable bathrooms outside, and extremely run down and dingy conditions in general.
Results: workers organized a work stoppage, and the story was exposed in the local and national media. Most workers returned to Mexico before the end of their work term and a small number remained behind until the end of their contract.
Report: PDF
*******************************
Aquilini fine appeal rejected
By Andrea Woo, Vancouver Sun
January 23, 2012
WorkSafeBC's review division has rejected an appeal by the Aquilini family over fines levied last year.
Francesco, Roberto and Elisa Aquilini, operating as Geri Partner-ship-Golden Eagle Ranch, were fined $125,402 for safety violations at their berry operation at 15351 Aquilini Ave. in Pitt Meadows.
An inspection in 2010, found vehicles used to transport workers were not "designed, maintained and operated in a safe manner" and were not operated by a properly licensed driver, said a WorkSafeBC inspection report.
Inspections on Sept. 3 and 7, 2010, found the Aquilinis failed to provide workers with "information, instruction, training and supervision necessary to ensure the health and safety of those workers in carrying out their work and to ensure the health and safety of others at the workplace," according to the report.
The two penalties, each for $62,701, were determined based on the payroll and nature of the violations. They can appeal the review division decision, said Donna Freeman of WorkSafeBC.
"The final level of appeal is WCAT - the Workers' Compensation Appeal Tribunal," she said.
*******************************
In 2006, J4MW BC visited Golden Eagle farms and reported on abuses committed by managers against Mexican farm workers. It would seem that 6 years later Golden Eagle is still not treating their workers right. It is particularly shamefull given that the Aquilini's are some of the wealthiest people in BC, and with a high public profile that comes from owning the Canucks.
Link to letter of protest by Mexican workers at Golden Eagle farms, 2006.
On December 18th, 2011, International Migrants Day, No One Is Illegal Vancouver Coast Salish Territories, Justicia for Migrant Workers, and Philippine Women Centre organized a flash mob.
Forty of our friends and allies sung '12 Days of Deportation Minister Kenney' to our reworked lyrics in shopping malls and streets and public transit throughout the evening.
* Watch and circulate the video (including lyrics):
* View photos:
Anti-immigrant Minister Kenney is no Santa!
Under Kenney, Harper, and the Conservatives:
- Family class immigration has dropped by 15%.
- Quotas for spouses and children have been reduced by 4,000 per year.
- There is currently a moratorium on sponsorships of parents and
grandparents.
- The number of refugees granted permanent residence has dropped by 25%.
- Skilled worker visas have been decreased by 20%.
- The quota for live-in caregivers to become permanent residents has been
slashed by 50%.
So who are all the migrants coming into Canada?
The number of temporary foreign workers is up 30%. Temporary workers have no rights of residency and are recruited primarily as temporary indentured labour for big business. Kenney’s model is one of Permanent Impermanence. We cannot allow divisive stereotypes of migrants ‘stealing our jobs and resources’ to let the Harper government off the hook for putting profit over the people and the planet. On International Migrants Day, stand with us for migrant dignity and human rights and justice for all.
Mexican Gov't Union Busting in BC, Charges Union
Guest workers pressured by Mexican officials to decertify unions, says UFCW.
By Tom Sandborn, May 11, 2011
TheTyee.ca
The office of the consulate general for Mexico in Vancouver has been involved in union busting activity among Mexican workers brought to B.C. under federal temporary worker programs, charge lawyers acting for the United Food and Commercial Workers union.
Mexican labour officials, it is alleged, have "choreographed" attempts to de-certify union contracts at B.C. farms. The allegations are contained in complaints filed with the B.C. Labour Relations Board on April 19 and 28.
According to documents filed with the board, the government of Mexico, through its Ministry of Labour, violated sections 6(1) and 9 of the provincial labour relations code when it instructed Honorio Corona Martinez, a worker enrolled in the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program ( SAWP) and employed in Canada by Floralia Plant Growers Limited of Abbotsford, to initiate a union decertification campaign at Floralia, where the UFCW currently represents workers under an agreement adopted in September of 2009.
April 29, 2011
Supreme Court: farm workers have no right to unionize
Globe and Mail Update
Supreme Court upholds Ontario law that restricts right of farm workers to bargain collectively
The Supreme Court of Canada dealt a harsh blow to the union movement today, ruling in favour of an Ontario law that restricts the right of farm workers to bargain collectively.
The Court said that the constitutional right to free association guarantees that "meaningful" negotiations take place between workers and their employers - but it is not intended to police the mechanics of how those negotiations take place.
"What is protected is associational activity, not a particular process or result," the majority said. "The Ontario legislature is not required to provide a particular form of collective bargaining rights to agricultural workers, in order to secure the effective exercise of their associational rights."
Links:
Globe and Mail Online
PDF
5 PM EST, April 29, 2011
Supreme Court listened, they ruled and they failed!
Migrant workers struggle to continue despite recent Supreme Court decision
(Toronto): In the face of the utter contempt by Canada’s highest court, Justicia for Migrant Workers (J4MW) reaffirms its commitment to the struggle for migrant justice in Canada. Today, the Supreme Court failed to address issues raised by Justicia for Migrant Workers relating to agricultural worker self-determination, to ongoing racism in Canadian society and to the inherently exclusionary impact of Canada's immigration laws. The Court's ruling in Fraser reinforces the hyper-exploitative and apartheid-like conditions faced by hundreds of thousands of migrant workers across Canada.
Supreme Court decision on rights of agricultural workers unworkable
"The Courts interpretation of the AEPA is unworkable. The decision does not reflect the realities of collective bargaining on the ground and the unequal bargaining power between employers and farm workers."
Montreal (29 April 2011) – The decision of Supreme Court of Canada's (SCC) issued today regarding the labour rights of agricultural workers in Ontario is shocking and unworkable according to the Canadian Foundation on Labour Rights (CFLR).
UN Finds Canada and Ontario Violate Human Rights
An Agency of the United Nations Has Ruled a Ban on Farm Unions Violates the Human Rights of Ontario's 100,000 Migrant and Domestic Farm Workers
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND -- (Marketwire - Nov. 19, 2010)
The UN's International Labour Organization (ILO) has ruled that Canada and Ontario, through Ontario's ban on farm unions, violate the human rights of the more than 100,000 migrant and domestic agriculture workers in that province.
Coalition to highlight human rights issues for B.C.�s migrant workers
April 18, 2011
A new coalition in B.C. is urging governments in Canada to change laws to better protect migrant workers� basic human rights.
The Coalition for Migrant Workers Justice B.C. united the voices of 12 Lower Mainland advocacy organizations Monday to put a face on what they say is a growing human rights issue in B.C. and the country.
Poor housing conditions, barriers to health care, disregard for workplace safety and a lack of employment standards are some of the problems workers face, said coalition coordinator Janette McIntosh.
Adriana Paz from Justicia BC was at the press conference to talk about the situation of migrant farm wrkers in BC:
Coalition for Migrant Worker Justice (C4MWJ) Statement of Unity
'Precedent-setting' contract a first for migrant farm workers
Migrant workers at the Sidhu and Sons Nursery in Mission have gained a precedent-setting union contract.
By Vikki Hopes - Abbotsford News
Published: November 12, 2010 4:00 PM
A collective agreement reached between a Mission-based nursery and a group of its employees is the first contract in Canada to specifically address migrant workers.
"El Contrato" (The Contract)
The acclaimed National Film Board documentary that traces the lives of migrant Mexican farm workers in Ontario and their quest for dignity and respect amidst poor working conditions.
Conservatives scapegoat migrant workers
Radio interview with Adriana Paz, J4MW BC
April 18, 2009
The Canada Border Services Agency raided three Ontario food processing plants at the beginning of April arresting more than 100 people. Adriana Paz is with Justicia for Migrant Workers. She says the Conservative government sees the recession as opportunity to push hardline immigration policies.
Listen to the full interview here
J4MW ARTICLES:
Migrant Workers Reap Bitter Harvest in Ontario
Women in particular find themselves vulnerable to violence and intimidation
October, 2008
Evelyn Encalada Grez
"Laura's crime was to have been injured at work. She lost her balance, fell off a tractor and her legs were crushed by its wheels. As soon as she regained consciousness after her first surgery, an official from the Mexican consulate in Toronto started harassing her."
Harvest of Injustice:
The Oppression of Migrant Workers on Canadian Farms
June 2008
Adriana Paz
"My first observation was that brown bodies are the pickers and white bodies are the managers. I naively asked my boss why there are no Canadians picking tomatoes. He answered me simply, "Because this is not a job for them."
CCPA, labour, academic and grasss roots study:
Farmworkers relegated to second-class status
Proposed changes would end exploitation of immigrant and migrant farmworkers
VANCOUVER, June 18 /CNW/ - A new study of farm work in BC reveals systematic violations of employment standards and health and safety regulations, poor and often dangerous working conditions, and dismal enforcement by government agencies. The study's authors propose comprehensive policy changes that would ensure farmworkers - most of whom are immigrants and temporary migrants - are no longer relegated to second-class status.
"Farmworkers are at the mercy of a complex and confusing system that exploits, threatens and silences them while putting their lives in danger," says study co-author Arlene McLaren, Professor Emerita of Sociology at Simon Fraser University.
Among the key findings:
- Farmworkers are routinely exposed to pesticides, gases used for ripening in greenhouses, and other chemicals without appropriate protective gear or training.
- Immigrant farmworkers are regularly transported by farm labour contractors in vans that violate safety regulations. Participants worried about their safety, but depend on contractors' vans to get to and from work. They did not report vehicle or other safety violations for fear of losing their jobs.
- Health and safety standards are routinely violated. For example, nearly 1 in 4 survey respondents rarely or never had access to a washroom on the worksite, and one in three rarely or never had access to any water for hand washing.
- The Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP), a federal-provincial program BC joined in 2004, brings a growing number of primarily Mexican migrant workers to Canada under conditions that amount to indentured servitude.
Download the full report - PDF [1 MB]
Related stories in the press:
Report on B.C. farm workers' conditions describe unsafe work conditions
Canadian Press - June 19, 2008
VANCOUVER — For the past four years, Juan has come to British Columbia from Mexico every spring to work on a farm.
The 38-year-old, who didn't want his real name to be used, says he knew the money was better in Canada but the working conditions didn't meet the high standards he had expected.
Farmworkers suffer lack of protection, Valley study
finds
Brian Morton, Vancouver sun
Published: Thursday, June 19, 2008
B.C. farmworkers face system-wide violations of employment standards and health and safety regulations, poor working conditions, and low enforcement by government agencies, according to a study released Wednesday by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Farmworker exploitation
A new B.C. study criticizes how migrant workers are treated
Paul J. Henderson
Chilliwack Times, Friday,
June 20, 2008
A study of farm workers in British Columbia released this week reports serious violations of employment standards and health and safety standards, often dangerous working conditions, and dismal enforcement by government agencies.
Abuse in our own backyard
By Siobahn Rowe
24 Hours, June 23, 2008
British Columbians are continually urged to buy locally grown produce in preference to food shipped over massive distances from overseas. This is a suggestion many do their best to follow.
Poor Safety, Health Standards for B.C. Farmworkers: Study
Farmworkers 'a particularly vulnerable group' of low-wage workers
By Joan Delaney
Epoch Times Staff
Jun 26, 2008
Farmworkers in British Columbia are treated like second-class citizens who live and work in unsafe conditions and are paid inadequate wages, according to a recent study.
|
J4MW
BC Housing Conditions for Temporary Migrant Agricultural Workers in B.C. |
LETTER OF PROTEST BY MIGRANT WORKERS IN BC
April 7, 2006
This letter of complaints was written by the Mexican agricultural workers from the Golden Eagle Group farm in Pitt Meadows, BC, in response to the fact that a series of grave concerns have not been addressed by their employer nor by Mexican consular authorities. This in spite of repeated attempts by the workers to find a solution to their legitimate demands for:
1. Bathrooms, drinking water and a place were they can find cover from the rain while they eat during working days in the fields.
2. More working hours. Currently the workers are being given insufficient working hours that rarely cover the minimum living expenses in Canada, and leave little or nothing to send back to their families in Mexico, which is the main reason why the workers come here in the first place.
3. Fair and respectful treatment by the supervisors and employers.
4. A response to their demands for medical attention without having to pay for it as they are not covered by B.C.'s Medical Services Plan but by RBC Insurance that is limited and insufficient.
5. Compliance with their written work contract which says that they were to work in a greenhouse and not in outdoor blueberry and cranberry farms.
The Mexican workers are employed under Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP) negotiated between the governments of Canada and Mexico. Each worker has a contract and is in Canada on a temporary working visa. The migrant Mexican workers are compelled to come to work in Canada as a result of the devastating impact of economic agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on the Mexican countryside. Upon arrival in Canada the workers often find themselves in precarious working, living and health situations and routinely face abuse and mistreatment from their employers, who appear to almost completely forget to respect the workers' fundamental labour, economic and human rights such the access to healthcare. The workers' complaints are rarely heard or addressed by either their employers or the Mexican consulate.
The situation exposed in this letter by the workers of Golden Eagle farms is not limited to this particular group of workers but can be considered part of a generalized condition of lack of justice, dignity and respect for the temporary agricultural workers that toil in the majority of Canadian farms, even when those workers come through programs negotiated between both governments to satisfy a need for labour in the agricultural sector. - J4MW BC
Download
letter in English [PDF]
Download
letter in Spanish [PDF]
MEXICAN MIGRANT WORKER THREATENED WITH FORCED REPARTIATION FOR VOICING CONCERNS ABOUT WORKPLACE AND LIVING CONDITIONS
 J4MW and the BC Federation of Labour held a press conference on May 24, 2006 to denounce the arbitrary termination of Marcos Baac. From left: NDP MLA and Labour Critic Chuck Puchmayr, BC Fed President Jim Sinclair, Marcos Baac, and Pablo Irriberne from the law firm Suleman and Co. |
VANCOUVER - May 19, 2006) - Marcos Baac, a Mexican migrant farm worker who was employed by Golden Eagle Farms in Pitt Meadows through a contract under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program, received notice on May 9th that he would be sent back to Mexico immediately.
Baac believes that this forced repatriation is a reprisal for being vocal in raising concerns about the farm’s poor working and living conditions. In April 2006, after failed attempts to bring their concerns directly to the employer and the Mexican consulate, Baac, along with 31 other workers at the farm, wrote a public letter outlining several workplace and living condition grievances.
Full
press release [PDF]
Press release in
Spanish [PDF]
Press package
[PDF]
About the Seasonal Agricultural
workers Program - SAWP [PDF]
CANADA HEALTH ACT
For Immediate
Release
March 22, 2006
(Vancouver) - Migrant farm worker advocates are accusing the BC Liberals of violating Canada's Health care act by denying migrant farm workers access to health care in BC. Justicia for Migrant Workers, an advocacy group fighting for the rights of migrant farm workers in BC is demanding that migrant farm workers from Mexico be immediately included under the province's MSP health insurance scheme, so that they can be given basic health coverage. Mexican workers have already started to come back to BC for the third year in a row, and up to a couple thousand workers are expected this year throughout BC...
Full
press release [PDF]
Full press
release in Spanish [PDF]
Updated June 31, 2013