Jamaican farm workers in Canada say they are being mistreated and forced to work in deplorable conditions. (File photo)
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Chris Ramsaroop, the organiser of Justice for Migrant Farm Workers
Labour Minister Karl Samuda is coming under fire from a lobby group for his comments about not receiving evidence of Jamaican farm workers being mistreated and forced to work in deplorable conditions on farms in Canada.
Chris Ramsaroop, the organiser of Justice for Migrant Farm Workers, has said the minister is trying to protect the farm work programme at the expense of workers.
He has also accused the Jamaican government of ignoring calls to advocate for better working conditions for farm workers.
Mr. Ramsaroop argued that both the Jamaican and Canadian governments have listened to the concerns "but have done nothing".
Instead, he contended that they continue "to ensure that the agricultural lobby gets its way here in Canada and perpetuates the asymetrical power imbalance that exists between the employer lobbies and the employer class, and workers".
Mr. Ramsaroop was speaking Wednesday on TVJ's Smile Jamaica.
According to reports out of Canada, the workers, who are employed through the Seasonal Agricultural Workers' Programme, have complained of working long hours, verbal abuse and intimidation, and poor living conditions, including rats eating their food at two farms in the Niagara region.
Mr. Ramsaroop said several farm workers endure these abuses due to instability in their employment.
He encouraged Jamaicans to put pressure on the government as well as the Canadian High Commissioner to advocate for better working conditions for seasonal farm workers.
"No worker should come home in a casket. No worker, who is healthy, should be coming back home maimed or not being able to take care of their family because of dangerous conditions and deadly working conditions in the so-called great global north," he insisted.
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