Fact-Finding team to probe work conditions of Jamaican farmers in Canada

Jamaica’s Ministry of Labour and Social Security has reported that Cabinet has approved the appointment of a seven-member fact-finding team to investigate the working conditions of Jamaican farm workers in Canada.

The Jamaican farmers are under the Canadian Seasonal Agricultural Workers (farm labor) Program.

According to a ministry release, the development comes after Minister Karl Samuda announced the appointment of a tripartite panel.

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That action was taken in response to correspondence to Samuda on behalf of several Jamaican farm laborers in Canada, who were said to be worried about numerous aspects and conditions of their seasonal working arrangements.

Following the allegation, the minister visited a number of farms in Canada where Jamaican laborers are employed and later stated that he observed no indication of any justifiable basis for the concerns.

However, there are still concerns, and members of the fact-finding team will investigate the matter.

Over two weeks, the team will visit all provinces where Jamaican farmworkers are employed, and a complete report will be presented to Minister Samuda.

The report will be presented to Cabinet and then tabled in Parliament.

 The fact-finding team is expected to:

• Conduct random selection of Canadian farms covering all where Jamaican farmworkers are employed.
• Collect data on the working conditions of Jamaican workers employed under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Programme (SAWP).
• Interview workers who have been injured to assess the level of care and responsiveness to their needs by the Jamaica Liaison Service in Canada and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.
• Speak to employers and other interest groups to hear concerns.
• Provide a report outlining the team’s findings, with recommendations to improve the Jamaican Overseas Employment Programme in Canada.

The members of the team are:

1. Helene Davis-Whyte (Chair) – President, Jamaica Confederation of Trade Union (JCTU)
2. Donald (Danny) Roberts – Deputy Chairman, Industrial Disputes Tribunal (IDT)
3. Wayne Chen – President, Caribbean Employers’ Federation
4. Raymond Eytle – Second Vice-President, Jamaican Employers’ Federation
5. Wayne Jones – Deputy Financial Secretary, Strategic Human Resource Management, Ministry of Finance and Public Service
6. Sidia Madden – Chief Internal Auditor, Ministry of Labour and Social Security
7. Kandre Leveridge – Researcher/Community Development Specialist