Mexican Migrant Workers Say Union Yes

Workers seek say in contract imposed by Mexican and Canadian governments.

In a historical breakthrough that could eventually impact thousands of migrant agricultural workers brought each season to Canada, 60 Mexican migrant workers at Mayfair Farms near Portage la Prairie in Manitoba and on three farms in Quebec have applied to go union with UFCW Canada. All but three of the workers at the farm near Portage la Prairie are Spanish-speaking migrant workers from Mexico who work between eight to 10 months a year in Manitoba.

The Mexican workers at the four farms in Manitoba and Quebec will be able for the first time to bargain their wages and working conditions. Until now, wages and working conditions for the migrant Mexican workers have exclusively been set by the Mexican and Canadian governments under the federal governments Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP).

"These men and women supply an essential service," says Wayne Hanley, National Director of UFCW Canada. "We have food on our tables because of these workers, but at what cost to them? For decades they have been cycled between Mexico and Canada with little support or protection from either government, and with the fear of being sent back to Mexico early at their own expense if they raise any workplace concerns. By choosing to form a union, these workers will have a say in how they are treated and compensated, which they never have had under SAWP."

Every year nearly 18,000 workers from Mexico and Caribbean countries are brought to Canada under SAWP. They typically are paid minimum wage and many of the workers are subject to working and housing conditions that Canadian residents would find intolerable. The workers, who are contracted exclusively to a single farm location for the season, are admitted under temporary work permits that require them to return to their home countries after their employers either fire them or have no more work for them.

Without the protection of a collective agreement, workers have historically been hesitant to report dangerous working conditions or hostile employers for fear of being sent home or blacklisted from returning the next season.

The Mexican consulate in Canada claims it is there for migrant workers who have workplace issues but according to Hanley, "time and time again, these workers have told us the consulate is nothing more than an employment agency that doesn't want to hear about problems."

The Manitoba Labour Board will be holding a hearing on the certification application for the Mexican farm workers in January. UFCW believes it has the support of an overwhelming majority of the workers, but the employer is opposing the certification on the grounds that the workers are not Canadian citizens.

UFCW Local 832 President Robert Ziegler says that shouldn't make a difference. The union already represents many Mexican workers at the Maple Leaf pork processing plant in Brandon.