Okanagan orchardists suspended by Mexico

[fluffy]

Unfortunately there are only a few options . Raise prices and wages . Send the tfw s home . Automate and send the tfw s home . Or do nothing and watch more stories like this pop up . We all know what the problem is

In the end it comes down to you and me. If Canadian growers can't get their product to market at a competitive price then the bulk of consumers are going to go for the offshore alternative. As much as most of us are quick to preach the benefits of supporting local producers, how many will actually look to see where their produce comes from let alone pay twice the price for home-grown product?

[f/22]

I've been a migrant construction worker in Canada--two to a motel room, and I've taught English in a second world fishing village in Mexico where large families live in little casitas they took years to build up by hand labour, sleep in hamacas, and share one bathroom. Mostly its a matter of familiarity with the 'roommates', sanitation, and cleanliness--the latter two of which the Mexicans are proud.

But here in this situation, it doesn't look like it's a matter of wages, but what little extra effort it would take given 'our' resources to have something for them of our 'middle-class' standards.

An interesting read in of the reports that I posted talks about the effect real-estate development and marketing has had on this issue in the Okanagan. Funny how our values go out the window when it comes to that sort of thing over food.

[stuphoto]

It would be interesting to know what sparked the snap inspections at the orchards in question.

I at least hope that they just perform random inspections the way that Workmans Compensation does at construction sites, and the Health Inspectors do at restaurants.

[stuphoto]

I've been a migrant construction worker in Canada--two to a motel room

to be fair this is standard for most blue collar workers.
Now that I am a professional driver I require a room to myself, but this is because I am either responsible for 50 passengers or 50,000 litters of fuel rolling down the road.

Even in motel rooms you and I both have minimum standards that must be met.

This last winter I was stuck in a motel room with peeling paint, mold in the bathroom, and no heat in Revelstoke in January.
If I hadn't arrived in town at 2:00 am my boss would have gotten a quick phone call.
The next day my boss heard from me, and assured me it wouldn't happen again. If it does I have permission to find another room, and the client will be sent the bill. You had better believe that it would be the most expensive room I can find.

[fluffy]

...to be fair this is standard for most blue collar workers.

I've never been in a motel type arrangement, but I can see double occupancy as a significant savings for the client. I've been commuting to the oilsands for work for the past few years and while private rooms are the standard now and have been for some years, the type of washroom facilities are getting attention of late. Where the standard was once the "gang style" washroom, where a bunkhouse of forty or fifty men shared communal washroom facilities, that model is fast disappearing in favor of a totally private room & washroom configuration or a "jack & jill" setup where two rooms, each with it's own vanity, will share a shower and toilet. The jack & jill is considered the bare minimum for new installations now, and the few gang style set-ups still in use are on their way out as it becomes harder and harder to license these through local health boards, and worker expectations rise.

[fluffy]

Have a peek here for the type of bunkhouses that are being taken out of service in considerable numbers. I wonder what the "second-hand" price tag would be on one of these?

http://www.atcosl.com/en-ca/Products-and-Services/Mobile-Offices/Documents/49-Person-Dormitories-Used.pdf

[f/22]

I've been a migrant construction worker in Canada--two to a motel room

to be fair this is standard for most blue collar workers.
Now that I am a professional driver I require a room to myself, but this is because I am either responsible for 50 passengers or 50,000 litters of fuel rolling down the road.

Even in motel rooms you and I both have minimum standards that must be met.

This last winter I was stuck in a motel room with peeling paint, mold in the bathroom, and no heat in Revelstoke in January.
If I hadn't arrived in town at 2:00 am my boss would have gotten a quick phone call.
The next day my boss heard from me, and assured me it wouldn't happen again. If it does I have permission to find another room, and the client will be sent the bill. You had better believe that it would be the most expensive room I can find.

Yep, two to a motel room for me as a Canadian migrant construction worker was fine, and no complaints

Here are the guidelines and comments for migrant workers here.

<snip>

The SAWP guidelines prescribe that buildings to be used as housing for migrant workers be located on well-drained land, waterproof, 100 feet from barns or poultry cages and detached from buildings that store inflammable material and provided with adequate lighting and ventilation; that floors be tight fitting, smooth-surfaced, readily cleanable; that walls be 7 to 8 feet above floor level, smooth painted or of treated surface material. Sleeping facilities for these workers can be bunkhouses of family houses. Bunks should be “separate and sleep one person,” 12 inches above the floor, and at least 18 inches apart from the next bunk, when not lying lengthwise along the walls. The airspace per person in sleeping areas should be 300 cubic feet. A clean mattress and pillow, a supply of clean blankets, sheets and pillowcases, and one storage unit complete the requirements. Family housing specifies maximum occupancy rate of one person per 80 square feet of usable floor area and the same in bunkhouses. Basic furnishing, such as tables, chairs and beds are specified for family houses. It is also specified that the sleeping area should be partitioned from other living areas. One toilet and shower for ten people, one sink for seven and a constant supply of hot and cold potable water is prescribed. To these very elementary directions, safety, garbage and basic kitchen guidelines are also added (BCSAWP 2005)

<snip>

Bunks, unfinished interiors, cement floor, overcrowding are the norm rather than the exception. And more problematic still is the fact that workers are housed within the premises of the employers, on private property and thus, constantly under their gaze. It is irrelevant if workers’ movements are actually controlled or not in the premises: the possibility is always there.

<snip>

It is notable that some companies and individual farmers do their best to offer what they consider to be humane conditions to their workers. True, many of these conditions are marked by discourses of under development, race and class, but the employers act according to their moral conscience to be fair employers within the limits of their business needs.

<snip>

http://canada.metropolis.net/pdfs/Pgs_CITC_mar10_e.pdf

[f/22]

Have a peek here for the type of bunkhouses that are being taken out of service in considerable numbers. I wonder what the "second-hand" price tag would be on one of these?

http://www.atcosl.com/en-ca/Products-and-Services/Mobile-Offices/Documents/49-Person-Dormitories-Used.pdf

Here's a start:

http://www.atcosl.com/en-ca/products-an ... ar-offices


If they go for around 20 grand then it looks like this farmer might be able to afford one a year if he diverted his yearly claw-back to buy one.

"We calculated that this farmer may get around $20,000 per season in rent for his bunkhouse if workers stay long enough," (http://canada.metropolis.net/pdfs/Pgs_CITC_mar10_e.pdf).

[Jflem1983]

Should be a pile of 30 man drilling rig camps available . Not many rigs working still

[f/22]

Last fall, I passed by a stockpile down on the flats by the North Saskatchewan just outside of Drayton Valley. I don't think there was a lay-down yard there, though.

[f/22]

Back to 'reality', I think the rush to develop and market robots in Washington may partially be due to their new president's policies.

[Gigilees]

So does anyone know the name of all the orchards involved? I'd really would prefer not to support any of them. Also, why was this not posted on Castanet news?? This is kind of a big deal no? Whenever I pass by orchards there is usually at least one huge beautiful main property and in the video the manager or whoever tried to make it seem like the inspection was unfair because he didn't have the opportunity to dress up the slum, i mean 'housing'. Kind of sickening imo.

[mexi cali]

I honestly have no use for any company that imports any workers, when there is a single local looking for a job.
To me it appears that these companies just want slaves, and when they can't even supply decent living quarters it doesn't help them look any better.

Just so you know, my mom actually owns a small orchard in Midway, and she has always had more locals lined up at her door looking for work than she can possibly hire.

She is lucky. Lucky to be living in Midway. As a person who worked with laborers and employers in the ag sector in the valley, I can tell you that here, it is like pulling teeth to get them to work at all let alone at a tough job that requires you show up for it everyday.

It was frustrating for the employer and for me because they weren't able to meet deadlines and I was constantly trying to find people with a conscience and a desire to simply work. Pay was not the issue because we created a scale that was tied to effort which meant that they could make very decent money if they produced. They didn't hence the imports.

They understand commitment, family and integrity and they do it happily.

That any employer here would house them inadequately to save a few bucks is infuriating and makes us all look bad.

[f/22]

So does anyone know the name of all the orchards involved? I'd really would prefer not to support any of them. Also, why was this not posted on Castanet news?? This is kind of a big deal no? Whenever I pass by orchards there is usually at least one huge beautiful main property and in the video the manager or whoever tried to make it seem like the inspection was unfair because he didn't have the opportunity to dress up the slum, i mean 'housing'. Kind of sickening imo.

I haven't found anything with the names, nor any other coverage, and don't know why Castanet wouldn't post the story, except that it may seem 'anti-Okanagan-business', which appears to be no-no around here--at least when it comes to one prominent business that's known for its trademark ® hint-hint..

But then as I said here earlier:

From the material in my OP:

. . . this whole thing might be taken care of if accommodation standards were raised quickly. It appears SAWP might be able to provide JIT (Just in Time) workers from a pool in Mexico. . . .

But maybe we wouldn't get news if that happened either.

[fluffy]

Pay was not the issue because we created a scale that was tied to effort which meant that they could make very decent money if they produced.

What sort of money is out there for orchard workers these days? Given the extra sun during the summer, if a worker were to say, keep up a sustainable pace for a ten hour day with reasonble breaks, what could they expect to make? A couple hundred?