Agricultural workers have long been some of Canada’s most exploited and vulnerable. Because of factors including poor legislation or the increasing consolidation of large agri-business, farm workers have largely been excluded from having a voice in their employment conditions.
Farm work continues to be one of the most dangerous in Canada. One study estimates that 120 deaths and 1200 injuries requiring hospitalization occur on Canadian farms each year.
Since the 1990s, UFCW Canada has led the effort to improve conditions for agricultural workers, both Canadian and migrant workers. With 240,000 members across Canada, UFCW Canada is one of the largest private sector unions in Canada, with members in every aspect of the food industry; from the harvest, to food processing to grocery stores and restaurants.
Timeline:
June 2011 - Migrant workers from Mexico and the Caribbean gathered in B.C. and Ontario on June 19 to rally for human rights and to “celebrate” another Father’s Day apart from their families.
May, 2011 - UFCW CANADA Local 832 and Migrante Manitoba build on their work for migrant workers
After years of tirelessly working with migrant workers in Manitoba, and doing outreach activities in the community without any permanent office space, Migrante Manitoba has finally found a space to call its own at the UFCW Canada Local 832 Training Centre in Winnipeg, thanks to Local 832.
May, 2011 - Charges allege Mexico consulate blacklisted unionized Mexican migrant workers in B.C.
A leaked document has been deposited with the British Columbia Labour Board to back up charges that the Mexican consulate in Vancouver allegedly blacklisted
Mexican migrant workers who were union sympathizers from returning to Canada this season to the two Lower Mainland farms where those workers had successfully unionized.
April, 2011 - Advocates defend migrant worker health studies against OFA attack
UFCW Canada and the Agriculture Workers Alliance – two of the country’s leading migrant worker advocacy organizations – are applauding and defending the
findings of two new reports that make a direct link between worker illness and the shortcomings of Canada’s migrant worker system.
February 14, 2011 - UFCW Canada leads training session in Tapachula, Mexico
UFCW Canada’s outstanding commitment to empowering workers through training and education recently went global with its participation in the first-ever Global
Workers Defenders Network Forum, held in Tapachula, Mexico from January 24 to 28.
January, 2011 - Migrant Workers File $10 Million Lawsuit against Denny’s in British Columbia
More than 50 Filipino migrant workers recruited to Canada under the Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW) program have filed a $10 million class action suit against
Denny’s restaurants in British Columbia, charging the company did not live up to the employment contract the workers signed before they arrived from the
Philippines. The suit was filed in the B.C. Supreme Court on January 7, on behalf of the Filipino migrant workers employed at Denny’s from 2006 until the present.
December 13, 2010 - UFCW Canada active at World Social Forum on Migration
UFCW Canada recently joined over 1,500 activists from around the world in Quito, Ecuador, to participate in the 4th World Social Forum on Migration (WSFM).
The WSFM – which took place despite an attempted coup against the government of Rafael Correa – is an extension of the long running World Social Forum and is
dedicated to advocating for migrant worker rights.
November 22, 2010 - Another UFCW Canada Victory for Migrant Agriculture Workers:
Precedent-setting UFCW Canada collective agreement reached in B.C.
Abbotsford, B.C. - Migrant farm workers at Abbotsford's Sidhu & Sons Nursery, members of UFCW Canada Local 1518, are the latest to successfully negotiate a
Collective Agreement with their employer.
1994 – The New Democratic Party government enacts the Agricultural Labour Relations Act (ALRA). This act granted collective bargaining rights to agricultural workers in Ontario for the first time in history.
Mid-1990s – UFCW Canada begins outreach to seasonal agricultural workers in Ontario.
1995 – UFCW Canada local 1993 is certified to represent around 200 workers at Highline Mushrooms in Leamington, ON.
1995 – The Mike Harris Progressive Conservative government repeals the ALRA, denying workers at Highline farms and elsewhere the chance to bargain for a collective agreement.
1995 – UFCW Canada takes the Ontario government to court to challenge the exclusion of agricultural workers under the Labour Relations Act as a violation of workers’ rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in Dunmore v. Ontario.
2001 – The Supreme Court of Canada rules in favour of UFCW Canada in Dunmore v. Ontario and gives the Ontario government 18 months to comply with the ruling and address the Agricultural workers from the Ontario Labour Relations Act.
2002 – Ontario establishes the Agricultural Employees Protection Act (AEPA), which grants the freedom to “associate”, but not collectively bargain.
Agricultural Employees Protection Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 16:
English
Loi de 2002 Sur La Protection des Employés Agricoles:
French
2002 – First Migrant agricultural workers support centre opens in Leamington, Ontario, with the support of UFCW Canada.
2003 – UFCW Canada opens migrant agricultural workers support centres in Bradford and Simcoe, Ontario.
2003 – Farm workers at Rol-land Farms mushroom plant in Kingsville, ON organize to join UFCW Canada and challenge the AEPA. Workers vote overwhelmingly (132-45) to join UFCW Canada, though they are still awaiting certification and the right to negotiate a collective agreement in a drawn-out legal battle.
Farm workers vote overwhelmingly to join union:
English
Les travailleurs agricoles votent fortement en faveur du syndicat:
French
2003 – UFCW Canada launches three legal challenges:
- to the AEPA in Fraser v. Ontario (Attorney General)
- to the exclusion of Ontario farm workers from the Occupational Health and Safety Act
- to mandatory EI deductions for seasonal foreign workers
2004 – Greenhouse workers at Platinum Produce in Chatham, Ontario apply to join UFCW Canada.
Ontario greenhouse workers apply to go union:
English
Les travailleurs d’une serre en Ontario demandent de se syndiquer:
French
2004 – UFCW Canada opens migrant agricultural workers support centres in Virgil, Ontario and Saint-Rémi, Quebec.
2006 – UFCW Canada wins standing to represent migrant farm workers in challenge over Employment Insurance premiums.
Fraser v. Canada (Attorney General), 2005 CanLII 47783 (ON S.C.):
Link
2006 – Occupational Health and Safety Act is finally extended to cover Ontario’s farm workers.
UFCW Canada gains health and safety coverage for Ontario farm workers:
(English)
Les TUAC Canada obtiennent des protections pour les travailleurs agricoles ontariens:
(French)
2006 – Justice Farley rules in Fraser v. Ontario (Attorney General) that the Agricultural Employees Protection Act is constitutional, despite the fact that it bans farm workers from collectively bargaining.
Case Name: Fraser v. Ontario (Attorney General):
Link
2006 – UFCW Canada files for union certification at Stratford Chick Hatchery in Ontario.
Workers At Stratford Chick Hatchery vote to Join UFCW Canada: Company cries foul claiming unions prohibited at its site because it is “Agricultural”:
English
Les travailleurs d’un couvoir à stratford votent en faveur des TUAC Canada: L’employeur proteste en affirmant que les syndicats sont interdits à son établissement “agricole”:
French
2006 – UFCW Canada files for union certification at four farms employing mostly migrant workers, 1 in Manitoba and 3 in Quebec.
Mexican migrant workers apply to join Canadian union UFCW/TUAC: Workers seek say in contract imposed by Mexican and Canadian governments:
English
Des travailleurs migrants mexicains demandent d’adhérer au syndicat canadien TUAC Canada: Ils veulent avoir voix au chapitre concernant le contrat imposé par les gouvernements mexicain et canadien:
French
2006 – UFCW Canada begins first-ever AEPA proceedings to have four workers from Rol-land Farms reinstated to their jobs. They were fired following their efforts to join UFCW Canada.
2007 – UFCW Canada National President Wayne Hanley leads a historic first delegation to the Mexican congress commission on Borders, Population and Migration in order to discuss securing rights for workers in the SAWP program.
2007 – UFCW Canada opens Migrant agricultural workers support centres in Western Canada for the first time; in Abbotsford, British Columbia and Portage la Prairie, Manitoba; bringing the total to seven across the country.
2007 – Canada’s Supreme Court rules (Link) that collective bargaining is protected by the Charter of Rights in Freedoms in Health Services v. British Columbia. UFCW Canada had submitted an amicus curiae brief to the court in support of this position and the unions representing British Columbia health care workers.
2007 – UFCW Canada receives a delegation of five Mexican deputies (congressmen) from the Commission on Population, Borders and Migration and the Human Rights Commission to meet with academics, social service agencies, trade union officials and Mexican workers in Canada.
2007 – UFCW Canada is certified to represent seasonal foreign workers at 1 farm in Manitoba and 1 in Quebec. UFCW / TUAC local 501 appeals on behalf of farm workers in seasonal operations who were barred from organizing by the Quebec Labour Board.
2007 – UFCW Canada National President Wayne Hanley leads second delegation to Mexico to further discussions with Mexican civil society organizations and government officials on advancing the rights of seasonal Mexican workers.
2007 – Manitoba moves to adopt legislation protecting temporary foreign workers from unscrupulous recruiters. English
2008 – Manitoba leads the way in extending Employment standards legislation, including minimum wage, guaranteed paternity and maternity leave and work breaks to all agricultural workers.
A Guide to Employment Standards in Agriculture:
English document
La province annonce de nouvelles protections modernes pour les travailleurs agricoles:
French press release
2008 – UFCW Canada is set to open the eighth Agriculture Workers Alliance Centre in Kelowna, British Columbia.
2008 – UFCW Canada continues its efforts to secure the right to collectively bargain for Ontario Farm workers, with a date in Ontario Superior Court in May 2008.
June 23, 2008 – Ratification of UFCW Canada first-contract at Manitoba farm historic breakthrough for migrant workers.
August, 2008 – Seasonal farm workers in B.C. go union with UFCW Canada.
September, 2008 – UFCW Canada National President calls for public inquiry into B.C. mushroom farm fatalities.
September, 2008 – Farm workers repatriated after exercising human rights.
October, 2008 – B.C. farm employers launch legal attack on migrant workers.
October, 2008 – Another B.C. farm goes union with UFCW Canada.
November, 2008 – Ontario court ruling opens the gate to farm unions.The Ontario Court of Appeal has told the Ontario government to drop its ban on farm unions because it violates the Charter rights of Ontario’s more than 100,000 agriculture workers.
December, 2008 – Scores of Temporary Foreign Workers deported by Ontario agri-complex. More than 70 Mexican and Jamaican agriculture workers at a mushroom grow house facility were fired without notice.
December, 2008 – Fired foreign agriculture workers at Rol-Land Farms speak out.
December, 2008 – Over 50 additional foreign farm workers fired during Christmas season.
January, 2009 – Season of justice for Ontario farm workers must be now.
“Ontario agriculture workers expect the Premier will honour the decision and do the right thing without further delay,” says Wayne Hanley, the president of UFCW Canada.
February, 2009 – UN agency points finger at Ontario for ban on farm unions
The United Nations agency that oversees international labour standards has slammed Canada for its provinces where laws prevent agriculture workers from unionizing.
February, 2009 – End the Harvest of Death
An open letter to Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach from Wayne Hanley, National President
“As leader of the largest private-sector union in Canada, and on behalf of 35,000-plus food workers in Alberta, I urge you to take a proactive role in preventing future industry deaths by immediately accepting and implementing the recommendations put forward by Justice Barley’s inquiry.”
February, 2009 – Tragedy at Mayfair Farms
The death of a Manitoba farmer and the injury of three workers on Monday “is a tragic reminder that farmers and farm workers face hard, unpredictable, and dangerous working conditions everyday,” says Wayne Hanley, the National President of UFCW Canada.
February, 2009 – UFCW Canada counters Ontario appeal application to Canada’s Supreme Court
UFCW Canada has challanged Ontario’s request to the Supreme Court of Canada that it hear the province’s appeal of a November 2008 lower court decision that ruled Ontario’s prohibition on agriculture workers forming unions is unconstitutional.
February, 2009 – Mexico state and UFCW Canada sign migrant worker protection pact
MORELIA, MICHOACÁN, MEXICO, February 24, 2009 - Migrant workers from the Mexico state of Michoacán will have enhanced protections when they arrive in Canada this season, thanks to a new historic agreement. Under the pact, workers from Michoacán will be assisted in Canada by UFCW Canada in association with the Agriculture Workers Alliance (AWA).
March, 2009 – UFCW Canada files complaint against Ontario with United Nations agency
UFCW Canada has filed a formal complaint with the International Labour Organization, charging Ontario’s ban on agriculture unions violates the human rights of Ontario farm workers.
Human rights violation of Ontario agworkers continues
April 2, 2009 - The basic labour and human rights of Ontario agriculture workers will be in front of the Supreme Court of Canada again, after the highest court in the land agreed to review a recent Ontario lower court decision that ruled the province’s current prohibition on farm unions is unconstitutional.
- Canadian Agricultural Injury Surveillance Program. Fatal farm injuries in Canada, 1991-1995. Kingston: Queen’s University, 1997.
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