TEMPORARY FOREIGN WORKERS
“Depending upon the year, there are some
students available to hire. But because of
the school schedule they’re busy just when
some of the critical work needs to be done.”
growing season. The family is prepared
to help their foreign workers conform
to the mandated quarantine period,
and has all the other required health
protocols in place for the workers’ “home
away from home” during the remainder
of the 2020 season.
“What happens if our workers
don’t arrive? Well, we’ll be relying on
Campbell’s friends to do the work,” said
Gregory. “Campbell knows some peo-ple
who have lost their jobs because of
COVID-19, and they may be able to step
in to help this year.”
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However, relying upon friends, stu-dents,
and local workers is not a via-ble
long-term solution for this Fisher
Branch business.
“Depending upon the year, there
are some students available to hire. But
because of the school schedule they’re
busy just when some of the critical work
needs to be done,” Gregory said. “For
instance, September is an important
month when we have to miticide the
hives, but, of course, students are going
back to school at that time.
“Also, the (bee) boxes are heavy; it’s
physical, demanding work. There are
no holidays during a farming season,
and work has to be done in almost all-weather
conditions. Many adults willing
to do the work are really looking for full-time
employment. They don’t want a job
that ends in October and starts up again
in April.”
Expanding labour gap
in agriculture
The federal government’s Seasonal
Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP)
allows Canadian employers to hire tem-porary
foreign workers from Mexico and
11 Caribbean countries when Canadians
and permanent residents are not avail-able.
Foreign governments are respon-sible
for the recruitment of workers and
provide consular support while they are
in Canada.
All Canadian employers applying to
the SAWP program must show that they
have tried to fill the job vacancies with
homegrown labour. However, jobs are
chronically unfilled across the country,
resulting in an expanding labour gap in
Canadian agriculture.
Connery’s Riverdale Farms Ltd.,
near Portage la Prairie, has depended
on the SAWP for years to help it become
one of the leading vegetable producers in
the province.
“Workers from this program come
up for a few months every year to do sea-sonal
jobs, mostly for minimum wage,”
said Sam Connery. “Despite the fact that
these are entry-level jobs, they require
good physical endurance and dexterity,
– Paul Gregory
20 § Manitoba Farmers’ Voice § Summer 2020
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