KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Labour Minister Pearnel Charles Jr. is traveling to Jamaica for a first-hand view of the working conditions of Jamaican farm workers amid complaints that they are being made to live and work under substandard conditions.
“The intention is to meet them as soon as possible, so we should be sitting down very soon. I’ve had an informal discussion with one already,” he said, indicating he would be meeting with Canadian officials overseeing the program without elaborating.
Charles also plans to meet with the High Commissioner to discuss the scope of the observation across more farms and the need to understand better the issues that may have yet to be captured in the recent fact-finding mission.
“There are always many sides to these issues. And so my goal is to try and listen to as many sides as possible so we can take sensible steps,” he said, adding that the aim is to get a complete understanding from the Canadian authorities, farmers’ employers, and liaison officers.
A fact-finding team appointed last year to investigate the conditions of farm workers in Canada under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Programme reported that the workers interviewed were satisfied with the working and living conditions on the farms.
The fact-finding team that conducted the report said they visited 65 farms across six provinces and spoke with 473 Jamaican farm workers. Their survey focused on five themes: living conditions, effectiveness and reliability with the liaison service, the relationship between farm workers and farm owners, terms and conditions of their employment, and the benefits of the farm workers’ program to themselves and their families.
However, President of the Union of Clerical Administrative and Supervisory Employees, Vincent Morrison, speaking on a local radio program here this week, said the report did not accurately reflect the struggles facing some farm workers.
He recalled being a member of a previous mission under the People’s National Party (PNP) government. That mission extensively toured areas of Canada and found “some good arrangements,” However, other farms were poor and had to be threatened that Jamaica would pull out of the program if conditions did not improve.
But Morrison said that the report of the recent fact-finding team needed to be revised and more efficient as the team was only sent to Canada for a few days.
Public commentator Judith Wedderburn also suggested that the issues faced on Canadian farms could result from liaison officers needing to carry out their duties or insufficiently.
Additionally, she said she is not convinced that the fact-finding team conducted an extensive investigation.
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