2009
Agriculture Workers Alliance
AWA E-News
Agriculture Workers Alliance
The Agriculture Workers Alliance (AWA) Portage Centre would like to invite everyone living near the universities of Winnipeg and Manitoba on March 24 and 25 to participate in the film presentation of EL CONTRATO and to have an open discussion surrounding the agriculture migrant workers in Manitoba. Free admission.
March 24, 2009
University of Manitoba
Hosted by the AWA and the University of Manitoba Student Union (UMSA)
Time: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Location: University Centre Campus Area
March 25, 2009
University of Winnipeg
Hosted by AWA and the University of Winnipeg Student Association (UWSA)
Time: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Location: University of Winnipeg Bulman Centre, 515 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg
Our Educational Outreach Program continues to make a difference in educating and informing the public in general about the problems that farm workers encounter.
Our team made visits to Brock University in Niagara Falls, McMaster University in Hamilton and the University of Toronto Law Union Conference. If you would like our team to come to your university, college or community organization to talk about these issues, gives us a call at 416-579-9232.
Edmonton—Strathcona MLA Rachel Notley from the Alberta NDP called on the government Thursday to broaden the extent of workplace safety laws to include farm employees. Joined by Devin Yeager, a UFCW Canada national representative, Notley noted this week is National Farm Safety Week and said,
“We want to actually make that week mean something this year…
People are being injured, people are being hurt, and it needs to stop.”
According to statistics, there is an average of 18 deaths a year in the farming industries from 2000 to 2007 in Alberta alone.
Our website (http://awa-ata.ca/en/events/) has a link to the End Harvest of Death campaign. You can help Lorna Chandler, UFCW Canada, AWA, and the rest of the Alberta labour community to help save lives on Alberta farms by voicing your concerns to Premier Ed Stelmach. Tell the Alberta government to start taking farm safety seriously by sending a quick email to the premier that calls for the immediate implementation of Justice Barley’s recommendations.
On that note, Farm Safety Week takes place March 11 – 17, 2009. Personal protective equipment (PPE) only works if you use it! is the theme of this year’s campaign with a focus on the use, fit, and access of personal protective equipment in agriculture.
The campaign is being delivered by the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) and Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA) in partnership with Farm Credit Canada (FCC) and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC).
According to the Farm Safety Report Card released in September 2008 by FCC research, there is still a big gap in the number of farms that currently have a safety program in place versus those that do not have one. According to the report, only 15% of 756 respondents have a safety program in place compared to a dismal 85% that do not.
The CASA’s Fatal Farm Injuries in Canada (1989 – 2000) reported that there were a total of 1,277 deaths in an 11-year span. That is an average of 116 deaths a year! New data from the Canadian Agricultural Injury Surveillance Program (CAISP) shows 217 fatalities among children and youth aged 14 and under – an average of 13 per year for the period of 1990 to 2005. Almost half of them were under five years old, and three out of four were boys.
Agriculture and horticulture workers
Análisis de políticas y Estadísticas sobre el trabajo y las condiciones de vida
Trabajadores (in) migrantes y Conciencia Pública
Canada, Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec, Colombia Británica, Otras provincias, Federal, Nueva Escocia, y National relevance
Francés, Inglés, y Español