Canada: Workers & advocates describe abusive, unsafe working conditions on BC farms
Summary
Date Reported: 31 Aug 2023
Location: Canada
Other
Not Reported ( Agriculture/food/beverage/tobacco/fishing: General ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - Guatemala , Agriculture/food/beverage/tobacco/fishing: General , Men , Documented migrants )Issues
Violence , Minimum Wage , Precarious/Unsuitable Living Conditions , Dismissal , Restricted mobility , Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure Time , Excessive production targets , Access to Non-Judicial Remedy , Freedom of Expression , IntimidationResponse
Response sought: Yes, by The Tyee
External link to response: (Find out more)
Action taken: The Tyee contacted Hernández’s employer, who confirmed he had worked at that farm but denied Hernández’s allegations of abuse, which have not been tested in a court of law. Hernández is one of few temporary foreign workers who succeeded in applying for the open work permit the federal government offers to workers who have been abused.
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 31 Aug 2023
Location: Canada
Companies
Krazy Cherry Fruit - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , Agriculture/food/beverage/tobacco/fishing: General , Men )Issues
Precarious/Unsuitable Living Conditions , Occupational Health & SafetyResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 31 Aug 2023
Location: Canada
Other
Not Reported ( Agriculture/food/beverage/tobacco/fishing: General ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: 170
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Guatemala , Agriculture/food/beverage/tobacco/fishing: General , Women , Documented migrants )Issues
Wage Theft , Access to Water , IntimidationResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: News outlet
"A case of bad apples, or a rotten orchard?"
...
Each year, thousands of migrant farm workers travel to British Columbia to harvest the province’s offerings: cherries, corn, cucumbers, plums, peaches, grapes for wine. Farming makes up one per cent of B.C.’s GDP; fruit sales alone are worth about $460 million a year...
Despite farmers’ reliance on temporary foreign workers, consular officials, advocates and workers themselves say they are too often mistreated by their bosses.
The Tyee spoke to more than a dozen farm labourers for this story, as well as nine outreach workers who routinely visit these farms, where employers almost always double as landlords. Many described cases of employers physically or verbally abusing their employees, and they also described abhorrent housing conditions well below the standard set by senior governments, a subject The Tyee will explore in detail in the next instalment in this series...
Representatives of the farming industry say that characterization of the program is unfair. Glen Lucas, the manager of the B.C. Fruit Growers’ Association, says problems on these farms are a case of isolated and unfortunate incidents: bad apples, not a rotten orchard. “There’s this idea that we’re painted with one colour. But it’s a complicated picture,” Lucas said.
But even employers agree governments are not doing enough to catch and punish employers who break the rules. Outreach workers say when federal agents do visit farms, their visits are often perfunctory, and that they sometimes do not even speak to workers...