Canada's Mexican Farm Laborers Discouraged From Raising Concerns: Advocate Tara Carman - Vancouver Sun
go to original November 21, 2012

Hector Hernandez paints Poinsettia plants at a greenhouse in Chilliwack. (Ward Perrin/Vancouver Sun)

Temporary workers from Mexico who come to work in B.C.'s agriculture industry put their future employment at risk by raising concerns about living or working conditions, according to a Fraser Valley labor advocate.

Those who do complain about problems such as overcrowded, unsanitary housing, verbal abuse or not being paid according to their contract are usually not invited back by their employers the following year, said Lucy Luna, Abbotsford coordinator for the Agriculture Workers' Alliance.

This is a problem, she said, because enforcement of the law is entirely complaint-driven and workers effectively forfeit their jobs by complaining.

Canada's temporary foreign worker program, which in recent years has overtaken permanent skilled worker immigration streams, was thrust into the spotlight when a mining company recently announced plans to use the program to bring in 200 Chinese workers for a mine in northeastern B.C. Proponents argue the program is essential to fill labor shortages in industries where qualified Canadians can't be found, while critics charge that it depresses wages for Canadians and creates a cheap pool of easily exploited and disposable labor.

Farm and greenhouse operations are some of the biggest employers of temporary foreign workers in this province and 90 per cent of those workers come from Mexico, Luna said.

The Mexican government recruits workers on behalf of employers and its representatives in Canada oversee the program. This year, almost 3,600 - of which just over 3,400 were men - were employed in B.C., said Edgar Hurtado, the Mexican vice-consul in Vancouver. They have to be married, Hurtado said, because this creates "a sense of responsibility."

"It's people ... (who) will understand that this is a commitment ... to do a good job so that they can be paid and they can support their family in Mexico."

The consulate investigates complaints by workers when they receive them, usually through mediation between the worker and the employer, Hurtado said. Sometimes the issue is a relatively simple misunderstanding; other, more serious matters can necessitate the involvement of provincial health or labor authorities.

Among the complaints Luna said she has heard this year alone include: housing without running water, up to 27 workers living in the same house, and employers beating workers with sticks when they feel they are not working fast enough.

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, the department that authorizes the use of temporary foreign workers, evaluates employers based on past compliance with program requirements, spokeswoman Amelie Maisonneuve said in a statement. If the department receives evidence from consular officials or provincial authorities that an employer is mistreating workers, the employer will be barred from using the program, she said.

Hurtado would not say how many complaints the consulate receives each year, but noted that the consulate raised concerns about overcrowded and unsanitary housing with 42 employers over the summer, who he said are working to address the concerns because they are eager to remain in the program.

However, for any of this to happen, the onus is on the worker to make a formal complaint, Luna said, estimating that less than one per cent of the people who raise such concerns with her choose to pursue it. This is because the workers are often unaware of their rights, speak little to no English and fear reprisals from their employer or the Mexican consulate, said Luna, who accused the consulate of preventing workers who make complaints from returning.

Hurtado said this is a "really wrong perception of the program." Employers evaluate the workers each year, and about 80 per cent usually return to the same farm the following year, proof that the program is a win-win for both employers and workers, he said.

But Luna said an independent agency is needed to proactively investigate whether employers are following the rules of the program, rather than relying on vulnerable workers to alert them to problems.

Workers should also have the option of applying for permanent residence after working in Canada for a certain amount of time, as is the case with the live-in caregiver program, Luna said. Mexicans employed as seasonal agricultural workers are not allowed to spend more than eight months a year in Canada.

"If the year has 12 months and you live eight months in Canada and four in Mexico, where are you temporary?" she asked. "You are temporary at home in Mexico."

tcarman@vancouversun.com - twitter.com/tarajcarman

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