Justice for Migrant Workers: June 20th is the official start of the summer season. The province must enact emergency measures for heat stress faced by agricultural workers
June 20 2024 - 1:49PM
On the first day of summer, Justice for Migrant Workers (J4MW) is
demanding immediate emergency protections for the tens of thousands
of agricultural workers employed in Ontario. Workers have been on
the frontline of the ongoing heat wave and are enduring dangerous
and deadly conditions while the province ignores their demand for
workplace protections.
Farm workers have been reaching out to our hotline raising
concerns regarding the impact of the current heat dome on their
well being. Every year, workers and worker advocates sound the
alarm about the dangers of work during heat waves. Last year the
provincial government stated its intention to implement a heat
specific regulation to protect Ontario workers. Where are the
protections?
The Ford government claims employers have a responsibility to
protect workers from heat stress. Yet workers regularly report long
working hours in 30+ degree weather, no access to shade or adequate
breaks, all while doing the backbreaking labour that Canadians
don't want to do.
It is imperative that this government materially address
occupational health and safety hazards such as heat stress, poor
air quality, and chemical and pesticide exposure. Ontario provides
no industry-specific regulations for agricultural workers,
exacerbating an already crisis-level situation. This week farm
workers endured sweltering conditions both greenhouses and outside
field work.
Ontario can no longer ignore the voices of farm workers.
Justice for Migrant Workers (J4MW) is demanding the
implementation of emergency measures including:
- Shutting down farms and paying workers in extreme crisis
events;
- Paying workers when they are not employed as a result of
climate-related issues such as forest fires, extreme heat, major
thunderstorms and heavy rain;
- Enacting heat stress protections for workers;
- Strengthening anti-reprisal measures and proactive
inspections;
- Implementing paid breaks and providing permanent paid sick days
for agricultural workers;
- Providing sufficient shelters, functioning bathrooms and
drinking water for workers at the expense of the employer;
- Providing first aid, hydration stations, and on-site medical
support (RN or RPNs);
- Permitting third party complaints at the Ontario Labour
Relations Board;
- Ending agricultural exclusions under the Employment Standards
Act;
- Incorporating race and gender analysis in both occupational
health and safety and employment standards;
- Ensuring that agricultural harvesters are being paid holiday
pay;
- Implementing clear trigger temperatures for extreme heat and
humidity, including indoor temperatures (e.g., greenhouses);
and
- Preventive measures to avoid overheating including: specific
requirements for shade, acclimatization for new and returning
workers, mandatory cool-down rest periods during high temperatures,
along with access to preventive cool-down measures as needed.
- Expand the occupational health and safety act to include farm
worker accommodations.
- Extend heat stress protections to be agricultural
dwellings.
- Implement extreme weather protections to address not only heat
but cold weather temperatures.
Ford has the necessary tools to address long standing issues
raised by farm workers. These are not new issues. It's time to act.
Immediate and urgent measures are required to end the structural
violence farm workers endure as a result of legal exclusions that
exist within Ontario’s legislative framework.
J4MW also reiterates our longstanding demands for: permanent
status on arrival for migrant farm workers, an end to unilateral
repatriations and disbarment, and equal access to entitlements such
as EI and CPP.
Justice for Migrant Workers (J4MW) is an all-volunteer
collective that consists of current and former workers, labour and
community activists and scholars who advocate for fairness, dignity
and respect for agricultural workers.
Justicia for Migrant Workers (519) 903-7376 Tel / Email:
j4mw.on@gmail.com