Unethical Summerland Orchardists and Farmers

[matai]

Well, I don't give a rat. Something is better than nothing. What are Canadian workers provided with? Sweet *removed* all, not even shopping trips. As for the kitchen being METERS away from the porta-potti, well I grew up in a farm house built in the 1940s. The 5×5 washroom was literally IN the kitchen (like in every freaking old houses I know).
Cry me a river somewhere else than in the desert, thank you.

[NextGen]

The TFW Program serves essentially the same purpose as the Chinese Exclusion Act and like laws and regulations. That is, it exists to restrict working class immigrants to temporary status, and to depress wages and weaken the market power of all working people, including those who already have Canadian citizenship.

I agree Canadians need jobs too and we should be first to get these Orchards jobs. What they might have to do is pay a living wage, or treat their employees with a little respect. What they might have to do is charge a little more for their fruit or wines -- or take a slightly smaller profit. Maybe pay OUR LOCALS a decent wage for that hard labour, and maybe not take 4 luxurious trips a year.

This is a dirty little secret of many small communities all over BC. All the government, Trade association talking points in the world can't disguise it: The reason Employers love temporary foreign workers is not because Canadians are lousy workers, and certainly not because there's a genuine shortage of Canadians who could do the work, but because TFWs have no rights and are easy to exploit.

This is why this situation about the Mexicans, is one of many here in BC. Just because there are TFW's, they are humans and deserve the same treatment as if any one of us were working on that orchard.

Unlike the Canadian workers self-hating Canadian employers apparently can't stand, temporary foreign workers "don't have the ability to tell employers to 'take this job and shove it' when they’re being abused."


In other words, "the TFW program is not immigration, it’s exploitation."

It is time this programs ends and lets SECURE Canadians with Jobs, we need to feed our families too. If the BC government continues with this program, TFW's need to be protected, this is a human rights issue.

[matai]

Instead of paying fly tickets and shelter to import slaves to work at minimum wage, give that money to your canadian employees in the form of an increase on their hourly wage. But no. Instead let's import more people we don't even need to start with, who don't even speak english nor do nothing good for our country and economy but let's keep the Canadians in extreme poverty and out of work.

ya know, just sayin'. Then it's crying so that we buy their local froots and vegetable.

And to end on a positive note:
I think the whole slave import system needs to be scraped out as it proved many many times it's best not to have one, and it starts with talking to the local MP.

[twobits]

Well, I don't give a rat. Something is better than nothing. What are Canadian workers provided with? Sweet *removed* all, not even shopping trips. As for the kitchen being METERS away from the porta-potti, well I grew up in a farm house built in the 1940s. The 5×5 washroom was literally IN the kitchen (like in every freaking old houses I know).
Cry me a river somewhere else than in the desert, thank you.

It behooves me how anyone could approve of a farmer that treats any human being with such indignity.....unless of course you are a farmer conducting business in the same fashion to improve your bottom line. This is exploitation plain and simple.
Perhaps if these farmers were forced to supply what they are legally required to, things like decent housing, sanitation, grocery trips etc, they would find that the costs of hiring these TFW's would allow a higher wages to be paid to locals and thus negate the need for TFW's.
I don't care if your house in the 40's had it's chitter in the kitchen. We do not live like that anymore, I am sure you do not live like that anymore, and there is no excuse, none, for anyone to treat anyone as a slave and have them live in poorer conditions than we afford our own pets. How many people would call a sheet of plywood on a concrete floor in a filthy unlit garage their dogs bed? And you think that's just fine for a human being huh?

[matai]

lol. Ok now where's the outrage from the news broadcasters about Canadians working for same said orchardists, living in tents, with no water nor electricity, with no kitchen and sometimes no porta-pottis and definitely with no shopping trips?

(Silence)

See.

[NextGen]

lol. Ok now where's the outrage from the news broadcasters about Canadians working for same said orchardists, living in tents, with no water nor electricity, with no kitchen and sometimes no porta-pottis and definitely with no shopping trips?

(Silence)

See.

Matai, please show me the article or news report you are referring too. This is all too typical of statements that these Unethical Farmers use to cover up their BAD BEHAVIOR by treating humans like this. This is a complete embarrassment to have these type of farmers in our communities and these Farmers and Orchardists should be blacklisted.

[Thinktank]

Farm workers are spraying and working pesticides all the time, without the proper
training. I know of a guy who sprayed roundup without even using gloves.

Oh yeah - a lot of crap goes on in the fruit industry.

[Elianna]

Yes it is clear that some farmers don't value the Canadians that we get. I was at the farm in question and was told that the Quebecers sleeping in the orchard were fast asleep when the farm sprayed the orchard they were sleeping in. Yes it's true that their conditions were awful. Yet most of them chose to stay despite the fact that they said this was the worst boss they ever had. Why? In my opinion there are a few reasons; this farmer picks for many farms in Summerland, so he has a monopoly. They want to work. Second, on my visit they were stoned out of their minds, within 100 ft of the boss's home and outdoor "office". They seem to appreciate their freedom. There was also an illegal woman from France there-so she wasn't interested in inspections. Lastly, they have options. They have vehicles to leave and the farmer doesn't stop them because he knows they speak English and can call 911 anytime they want.

In contrast, the Mexicans who were rescued by my friends and I were "chosen" - they couldn't choose their employer. If they speak up, they simply won't be "chosen" anymore. They are miles from town, they don't speak English, they don't have access to the Internet to file a complaint and this particular boss refused to let them leave the farm to buy food or send money home or speak to "white people". The fellow in the newspaper article from the Fruit Growers Association said the system worked. It didn't work at all. By the time we rescued them they had been working for 23 days in up to 37 c heat last month, living on a couple pieces of mouldy bread and the fruit on the trees. They were forced to drink non potable water and that porta potty-it was full to the brim because 23 people used it. It's not like your reference to pioneer days. They told me if we hadn't secretly rescued them, they were days from collapse.

I believe we need pickers and ALL of them should be treated like humans not slaves or second class citizens. This farmer was inspected-but obviously lied about the housing. If we are such proud farmers and proud Canadians, maybe we need to step up and start some random inspections and require mandatory education for farmers and pickers on their rights and responsibilities.

Thanks for listening.

PS: Global CHBC news went out there to do an interview and they didn't run the story because no one would talk. I asked if the boss was standing there and Klaudia said yes. So clearly they felt too intimated to speak.

[matai]

I agree 100% with you Eliana, but it still comes to the point that we DON'T need them here and why do we treat Canadians as second class citizens and not those migrant workers? Shouldn't the law be the same for both groups?

As for the tfw, the federal website claims inspections of shelters are mandatory every year. Now what I'd like to know is who inspected said facility and gave approval to have people stay in it. That person is as responsible for the mess as the farmer imo.

-Employers must provide proof that the on-farm or off-site housing has been inspected by the appropriate provincial/territorial/municipal body or by an authorized private inspector with appropriate certifications from the relevant level of government. As proof, employers can submit a copy of the housing inspection report from the previous year, with an expected date for the current year. http://www.esdc.gc.ca/eng/jobs/foreign_ ... ndex.shtml

[fluffy]

I agree 100% with you Eliana, but it still comes to the point that we DON'T need them here and why do we treat Canadians as second class citizens and not those migrant workers? Shouldn't the law be the same for both groups?

In principle that should be true, but the bottom line for the employers is that TFW's as a group come cheaper and have a stronger work ethic. A few unscrupulous employers who are taking advantage of the program shouldn't be taken as an indication of the entire situation.

[Elianna]

As far as I know this farmer is under investigation as it appears he has fraudulently shown the inspectors good housing that was not actually used for the workers.

Here is a new article that was posted today. http://www.pentictonwesternnews.com/opi ... 44391.html

[Elianna]

Another news article on the Okanagan situation.

http://www.pentictonwesternnews.com/news/273108001.html

[bipdl]

*removed*

[Xia33]

by matai » Aug 15th, 2014, 9:16 am

As for the Quebec pickers, even though they live in misery, they are not miserable... most of them make well over $30/h yet they expect everyone to be at their service for free. That's why I don't pick any of them up when they hitch hike on the road. Mostly because sometimes they don't look super clean too (because my guess is that they don't have access to showers). 99.5% of them also smoke weed daily and drink heavily each day. Yes they love to party but they have one thing in common: They are hard workers and without them, the Okanagan fruits would go nowhere and would simply rot on trees because no one else is interested in doing that dirty work in those conditions.

This is what you said previously about the Quebec pickers....and it is, IMO, a totally different situation. Obviously they come not only to make money, but to party, no? And they choose to work under those conditions because, in your own words, "99.5% of them also smoke weed daily and drink heavily each day". IF what you say is correct, then I, personally, would much rather have the mexicans than what would appear to be the dredges of Quebec society. The Mexicans are here to send money home for their families and do not come here to party. They are brought here under a government program that is failing them. THIS is the problem....it is basically slave labor in more ways than one. You said the quebecers are paid 30/hr, mexicans 10/hr.....why the difference IF that is true at all? Just because they are Canadian? Lolol. A job is a job period.

[Xia33]

who don't even speak english

jeez....on our travels, have met many quebecers that do not (or refuse to) speak English...at least the Mexicans have an excuse (being from another country) lol