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Seasonal Mexican workers organized by United Food and Commercial Workers
Toronto (27 Sept. 2006) - Migrant workers from Mexico working at three farms in Quebec and one in Manitoba have applied for union certification as members of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW Canada).
Currently, the workers have no alternative but to accept the wages and working conditions established under an agreement negotiated by the Mexican and Canadian governments. They come to Canada each year to work on Canadian farms under the federal Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP).
If their certification applications are certified by labour boards in the two provinces, as appears likely, the UFCW will be able to open contract negotiations on behalf of the employees at all four farms.
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) has been an active supporter of the campaign by UFCW Canada to win rights for agricultural workers in Canada.
The UFCW says the workers perform "an essential service" in Canada and deserve to have a legitimate voice in how they are treated and compensated.
An estimated 18,000 workers from Mexico and Caribbean countries come to Canada each year under the SWAP program. They are contracted exclusively to a single farm location each season, working under temporary permits that require them to return home if they are fired or laid off. They have a history of fearing to report dangerous conditions and of accepting sub-standard conditions for fear of being sent home or blacklisted.
Certification hearings are expected to start in Quebec this week and in Manitoba by the end of October. NUPGE