Send a letter - Guatemalan migrants
No more Injustice and Oppression against Migrants! Would you be willing to waive your human rights to get a job that most Canadians don’t want?
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Guatemalan migrants talk about the Temporary |
“During your stay in Canada, you should only do the activities you are assigned to and should not distract yourself with any group or association”
“Reasons to exclude you from the program that will force you to pay your plane ticket: alcoholism, theft, lack of respect and sexual relations”
“Upon arrival at the farm, the employer will keep your passport for the duration of your stay in Canada”
“Use deodorant before the flight and every day you stay in Canada”
“Beware of having relations with women”
“In case you needed to go back to Guatemala before ending your contract, you will have to prove that you have a good reason. Even then, the employer can choose whether to hire you the next season”
“You should keep your hair short to avoid lice”
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Lorna and Kevan Chandler |
While doing his job in a silo at Tongue Creek Feeders near High River, Alberta, Kevan was suffocated by several tons of falling grain – a terrible accident that prompted the call for a public inquiry into Kevan’s death, and the dangers faced by agriculture workers.
The government also asked the inquiry, led by Justice Peter Barley, to develop recommendations that might prevent future fatalities.
Justice Barley released his findings on January, 27, 2009, but, so far, the Alberta government hasn’t shown any interest in following the inquiry’s recommendations, which call for most farm workers to be covered by the province’s occupational health and safety legislation. In eight other province’s, the safety rights of farm workers are protected by law.
Kevan’s widow, Lorna Chandler, is trying to make Alberta farms safer for workers, and has spent the last two years advocating for the people who make our food every day. UFCW Canada – as the union committed to helping agriculture workers empower themselves – has joined the Chandler family’s fight.
With your help, we can establish safety rights in the Alberta agriculture industry – and save the lives of farm workers.
Making a difference starts with making a stand, so join the growing number of people who are taking a few moments to say something that will help the Alberta agriculture industry become a place where more workers go home, to their loved ones, at the end of the day.
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United Food and Commercial Workers Union
Canada's private sector union