AWA anti-discrimination campaign gains results: Quebec Labour Standards Board responds on the issue of migrant farm workers
- Date
2010
- Auteurs
Agriculture Workers Alliance
- Résumé
Quebec agriculture operations that deduct a housing charge from Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) have lowered their fee after it was noted the rate they were charging was beyond the maximum allowed under provincial labour regulations.
- Titre de la série
AWA E-News
- Institution responsable
Agriculture Workers Alliance
- Notes
Quebec agriculture operations that deduct a housing charge from Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) have lowered their fee after it was noted the rate they were charging was beyond the maximum allowed under provincial labour regulations.
The action followed after the Quebec Labour Standards Board advised the Guatemalan consulate, as well as FERME (a farm lobby group) that the $45 a week for housing that had been deducted from about 4,000 Guatemalan Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) was in violation of the $20 a week maximum allowable under provincial labour standards. The $45 charge had originally been negotiated between FERME, the Guatemala authorities, and approved by the federal government.
« We are glad the Board has acted to end this flagrant violation of provincial regulations, » says Andrea Galvez, co-ordinator of the Agriculture Workers Alliance (AWA) support centre in Saint-Rémi, Quebec. « For many years we have voiced our concern about discriminatory contracts and other violations forced on migrant farm workers in Quebec. »
Those concerns led to two complaints filed in Quebec last year, including one with the Human Rights Commission that TFW contracts violated the Charter by denying TFWs equal treatment. That charge is proceeding. A second complaint was filed with the Quebec Labour Standards Board on behalf of 40 Guatemalan TFWs at a Quebec agriculture operation whose housing deductions exceeded the provincial maximum.
That deduction has now dropped to $20 per week for them, and other TFWs working on Quebec farms, « who altogether were being overcharged more than $100,000 a week,» says Galvez. « It’s been like that since 2003, so a retroactive remedy should also be considered. »
« Housing is just one of many issues facing these workers. As we have for the last ten years, the AWA will continue its efforts to make sure the labour and human rights of these workers are respected. »The AWA, in association with UFCW Canada, operates 10 agriculture worker support centres across Canada.
- Liens
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AWA anti-discrimination campaign gains results: Quebec Labour Standards Board responds on the issue of migrant farm workers (http://awa-ata.ca/en/media/e-news-2010/e-news-vol3-issue-8/)
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- Secteurs économiques
Agriculture and horticulture workers
- Groupes cibles
Sensibilisation du public
- Domaines de réglementation
Détermination des salaires décents et des pénuries de main d’oeuvre et Droit à l’égalité (origine nationale)
- Pertinence géographique
Quebec et Guatemala
- Langues
Français, Anglais et Espagnol