12) MIGRANT FARM WORKERS: VULNERABLE AND EXPLOITED

(The following article is from the May 16-31, 2008, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

By Rangel Ramos Zapata and Carolyn Fish

While farm workers are amongst the most at-risk workers in Ontario, some are even more vulnerable. Migrant agricultural workers in this province do not have the right to unionize. 

     In 1966, workers came to Canada from Jamaica in order to fill the need for labour through the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP). SAWP was expanded, and in 1967 an agreement was made with Trinidad & Tobago and Barbados; in 1974 a Memorandum of Understanding was made with Mexico, and in 1976 the Western section of the Caribbean was included. Today, approximately 18,000 workers (400 of them women) come from six weeks to eight months each year. The majority work in Ontario.

     On the Service Canada website, it states that the SAWP program was created "to provide a supplementary source of reliable and qualified seasonal labour in order to improve Canada's prosperity... These measures help to maintain the livelihoods of Canadian and permanent resident workers in the agricultural industry as well as in other industries that directly or indirectly participate in and benefit from a strong and vital agricultural industry. In Ontario this program has responded to a critical shortage of available workers suitable for seasonal agricultural work."

     How is "reliable, qualified" and "suitable for agricultural work" defined, and why is there a "critical shortage"?

     The capitalist ideal of maximizing profits and minimizing expenses requires a vulnerable workforce. It is difficult to find enough Canadians who will agree to perform long hours of hard labour in dangerous working conditions for low pay, yet there are people living in poverty in Mexico and the Caribbean with few other options. Canadians like to think that they are "helping" poor people from the South by providing opportunities to work. The reality is that migrant agricultural workers are helping us, while we exploit their disadvantaged position in the global economy. Migrant agricultural workers don't have other viable options, so they do the work that Canadians won't. 

     Migrant workers are victims of numerous violations of their fundamental human rights. They are subjected to different rules than Canadian workers: lower salaries, abuses in the workplace, excessively long work days, unsafe work conditions, poor living conditions, and poisoning from pesticides. Government inspections of work and housing conditions are not completed frequently, and employers are often given advance notice before inspections.

     Most employers prefer for sick or injured workers to return to their country of origin, and don't always assist in seeking medical attention. This situation generates fear in workers who prefer to hide some illnesses or injuries in order to avoid quick repatriation. Sick days or time off to see a doctor are not guaranteed, nor paid.  A sick or injured worker is not "profitable" to employers. Workers live with the fear that they could be sent home at any time, for any reason. They know the reality: there are people at home waiting to take their place.

     Migrant agricultural workers pay into EI, CPP and income tax. But they do not qualify for EI when their contracts end, and are not informed that they can claim their pension at age 65. They pay taxes, yet are not eligible for healthcare or other services available to Canadian residents.

     Workers are not eligible at any time to apply for Canadian citizenship. Most who come to Canada have families; none are permitted to bring family with them. It is beneficial for Canada to use workers who have a reason to return home; it helps to maintain the system of exploitation of non-Canadians.

     Before travelling to Canada, workers receive warnings from authorities in their countries that any difficulties must be reported to their employer and/or their respective Consulate. They are prohibited from seeking assistance from a third party, or they will face exclusion from the program. Workers do not feel protected by their Consulates, which are seen as agents of the employers. The Consulates attempt to please farmers and the Canadian government in order to promote recruitment of workers. Remittances have become an important part of the global economy, and poor countries are in competition to have workers come to Canada. The agreements between Canada and the different governments are considered understandings, not obligations, and can be cancelled independently by any party though a notification of six months. 

     As a result of the vulnerability of migrant agricultural workers, volunteer organizations and advocacy groups have been created. The UFCW operates seven Migrant Worker Support Centers across Canada. As of June 30, 2006 agricultural workers are covered under Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act, thanks to a successful legal challenge led by the UFCW. The UFCW is also continuing its Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms challenge against the province of Ontario for denying agricultural workers the right to join a union and collective bargaining.

     Migrant agricultural workers are vulnerable because of Canada's decision to take advantage of their position within the global economy. Canadian employers will continue to benefit at the expense of `suitable' (perhaps `exploitable' is more appropriate) migrant agricultural workers as long as their fundamental human rights are denied. And while Canadian workers enjoy the benefit of cheaper agricultural produce at the expense of migrant workers, they should keep in mind that the greater exploitation and oppression of migrants brings with it downward pressure on their own wage levels and working conditions.