Have You Read the Reports about COVID-19 Outbreaks on Farms?

Close to 700 seasonal, migrant workers have tested positive. Two have died.

A Statement from Ontario Green Party Labour Critic Victoria Galea

Posted June 19^th, 2020 on Niagara At Large

We’re hearing stories of inadequate inspections, workers afraid to disclosetheir illness, and cramped living conditions without PPE (personal protective equipment).

But some of this isn’t new. Migrant workers are denied many of the basic labour and housing protections that we take for granted.

It’s time to discuss this two-tier system.

Migrant workers make up 42% of all farm workers. They leave their families in Mexico, Jamaica, and other countries to help keep food on our tables.

COVID-19 has exposed the inequality between how we treat migrant workersand local workers, and it’s time for that to change.

 

 

 

 

 

 

IS IT ETHICAL that migrant workers are not entitled to overtime and break periods?

IS IT FAIR that migrant farm workers cannot switch employers?

IS IT RIGHT that living quarters for migrant workers do not have to meet provincial housing standards?

There are many farmers who treat seasonal migrant

workers with the dignity they deserve.

But the reality is that we have one set of protections for Ontario workers, and a lower set of protections for migrant workers.

Send a letter to Premier Ford  to change this. (for contact informatin for the Premier, click on – https://correspondence.premier.gov.on.ca/EN/feedback/default.aspx )

• Victoria Galea, Labour Critic, Green Party of Ontario

To sign an online petition and join in sending a message to the Ontario Premier about this issue, click on –  https://secure.gpo.ca/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=141001&qid=34143484

To learn more about the Green Party of Ontario and its positions on issues, click on the party’s website at – https://gpo.ca/

For a recent news commentary Niagara At Large posted on the status of migrant farm workers in Ontario, click on – https://niagaraatlarge.com/2020/06/15/caravan-of-activists-rally-in-niagara-in-support-of-fair-treatment-for-migrant-farm-workers/

NIAGARA AT LARGE encourages you to join the conversation by sharing your views on this post in the space following the Bernie Sanders quote below.

“A Politician Thinks Of The Next Election. A Leader Thinks Of The Next Generation.” – Bernie Sanders