Migration & Refugee Services Articles
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April 24, 2008
MONTREAL (CNS) -- Quebec's Catholic bishops said the Canadian government should have an independent ombudsman to ensure that migrant workers are treated justly.
"If the work of seasonal laborers can help Quebec to keep a competitive edge and protect our Quebec products, we must recognize that this seasonal migration underlines the stark inequalities between rich and poor countries," said the social affairs committee of the Assembly of Quebec Catholic Bishops. "Governments and employers are therefore responsible to ensure that these workers have just living conditions and their basic rights are respected."
The arrival in the North each year of migrant workers from the South "reflects the scandal of inequality between rich and poor countries," said the bishops, noting the 4,500 workers who come annually from Mexico and Guatemala to Quebec to work on 350 farms.
They leave behind their families and come to a foreign country where they do not speak the language, the bishops said in their mid-April statement.
"Without these seasonal workers, many Quebec farmers would not be able to continue their commercial activities," they said.
The bishops noted how officers from the Mexican and Guatemalan consulates are responsible for ensuring that seasonal workers have adequate working conditions, but in practice are pressured by their governments to place as many workers on farms as possible.
"In such a situation, how can the seasonal workers make their employers respect their contractual obligations?" they asked.
The bishops proposed the appointment of an ombudsman who would be independent, accessible to workers, would be able to carry out swift and efficient enquiries and would make recommendations for the resolution of conflicts.
The seasonal workers are authorized to come to Quebec on the basis of a 1974 Canadian-Mexican agreement that provides Quebec farms with a low-cost labor force and Mexican workers with a seasonal income in Canadian dollars.
The working conditions and salaries are agreed upon by the Quebec farmers and the Canadian and Mexican governments, but the workers are absent from these negotiations, the bishops said, expressing concern about the isolation the workers face.
They live on the farms, often in remote areas, without transportation other than a bicycle or weekly bus trip to local supermarkets or to go to Mass. The bishops noted that a significant number of workers give up on the program, returning home early, disoriented and homesick.
Migrant workers sometimes are dependent on the employer for contact with the outside world. Although workers are given a card with the telephone number and address of their consulate, in some cases they only have access to the employers' telephone. The workers also have basic medical insurance, but in some cases can be taken to see a doctor only with the cooperation of the employer.
"These workers, isolated both physically and linguistically, are extremely vulnerable as regards threats and intimidation in their workplace but also in the communities that host them," the bishops said, referring to cases of workers who were sent home early without full payment because they spoke out about their poor working conditions.
"We have to guarantee these workers the exercise of their rights in all equality and with respect for human dignity," they said.
The bishops also encouraged Catholics to make a special effort to welcome the seasonal workers by inviting them to Sunday Mass, asking them to participate in a local saint's day celebration and visiting them on the farms where they work.
"We also invite Christian communities to fraternally accompany the workers in their journey of faith, helping their stay in Quebec to be one lived out in justice and dignity," said the bishops.
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