The United Food and Commercial Workers Union released a report calling for urgent reforms
A recent report by the union representing Canadian agricultural workers calls for migrant workers to be allowed to join unions.
The United Food and Commercial Workers Union released its “Status of Migrant Agricultural Workers in Canada 2023: Special Health & Safety Report” on January 29.
The report concludes with 12 recommendations, starting with giving migrant agricultural workers the opportunity to form or join a union and enter into collective bargaining agreements on their behalf.
The UFCW report finds that all farmworkers, not just migrant workers, already face many challenges and vulnerabilities due to underreporting of injuries, lack of oversight, and power imbalances with their employers.
“They face financial burdens, such as repaying loans and covering various costs associated with entering Canada to work,” the report said. “In Canada they often have to pay for PPE. Illegal contracting practices and employers’ control over work permits contribute to these workers’ lack of choice.”
The report notes that both the temporary foreign worker program and the seasonal agricultural worker programs began as temporary measures but have evolved into integral parts of the agricultural industry.
The UFCW also noted that the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery raised concerns about the programs in September 2023.
In addition to allowing unionization and collective bargaining, other recommendations in the UFCW report include strengthening regulations and programs for migrant workers in the agricultural sector in areas such as worker housing, pesticide exposure, language differences and improving access to health care.
The report also lists several urgent federal actions, including eliminating employer-specific work permits and replacing them with open or job-specific permits to allow mobility within the agricultural industry.
“Open work permits and more pathways to permanent residency are important reforms,” the report says. “While knowledge and training are essential, they alone cannot solve the problems faced by migrant agricultural workers.”
The UFCW report is not the only recent attempt to bring about change in the industry. In early January, a class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of migrant farm workers, alleging that the TFWP violated Charter rights by forcing workers to work for a single employer and pay into government benefits that almost none can actually claim from them.
The full Status of Migrant Agricultural Workers in Canada 2023 report can be viewed online at the UFCW website.
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