Foreign Workers

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Local workers applying as Queensland farmers are forced to up wages

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2021-Feb-01 Mon 13:30
2021-Feb-01 Mon 13:30
2868

Due to the critical labour shortages, Queensland farmers are forced to pay higher wages and provide better conditions, in the hope to attract local workers. The improved conditions come amid warnings of higher prices for consumers as food is left unpicked. Bundaberg lychee grower Craig van Rooyen said…

Delayed arrival of migrant workers worries Niagara greenhouse growers

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2021-Jan-13 Wed 13:19
2021-Jan-13 Wed 13:19
2710

New requirements of air travellers to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test result before boarding a plane to Canada are proving to be a barrier for temporary foreign workers from Mexico. Announced Dec. 31, the Transport Canada regulations came into effect Jan. 7, leaving some Niagara greenhouse…

New COVID-19 travel rules could hurt Canada’s greenhouse vegetable industry

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2021-Jan-12 Tue 08:23
2021-Jan-12 Tue 08:23
2697

New COVID-19 testing requirements for travellers entering Canada could hinder more than would-be pandemic tourists. They could also leave tomato, pepper, and other greenhouse vegetable farmers in B.C. scrambling for workers. Temporary foreign workers, most of them from Mexico, are essential to B.C.'s…

Canada wants rapid COVID-19 testing for international greenhouse workers

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2021-Jan-06 Wed 08:45
2021-Jan-06 Wed 08:45
2659

The Federal Conservatives are asking the government to bring in a rapid testing pilot project for international workers that are needed in Canadian greenhouses. Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Agri-Food Lianne Rood and Quebec MP Richard Lehoux have issued a joint statement where they say the current…

Australian fruit and vegetable growers warn of price rises due to labour shortages

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2021-Jan-04 Mon 13:30
2021-Jan-04 Mon 13:30
2643

Despite warnings of food shortages and price rises because of a severe shortage of workers, no state government has come to the table with a plan to bring foreign fruit pickers safely into Australia. Besides, just 355 unemployed Australians have joined the federal program that will see them reimbursed up…

Mexico might have to import labor due to the growth of its agricultural production

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Dec-23 Wed 10:49
2020-Dec-23 Wed 10:49
2601

According to Victor Villalobos Arambula, the head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Sader), the implementation of the T-MEC Treaty between Mexico, the United States, and Canada and the rearrangements in the production of food caused by the pandemic will lead to a growth in Mexico's…

UK ministers to treble number of foreign fruit and veg pickers to counter harvesting problems

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Dec-21 Mon 11:04
2020-Dec-21 Mon 11:04
2582

UK ministers are set to treble the number of foreign workers allowed into the country to pick fruit and vegetables, hoping to ease fears of rotting harvests as a result of Brexit. Some 30,000 temporary staff will be given permits in 2021, up from 10,000 this year, under a document circulated for an…

📅 Federal government seeks input on TFW program’s ag stream requirements

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Nov-10 Tue 15:11
2020-Nov-10 Tue 15:11
2107

To aid in establishing minimum requirements for employer-provided accommodations for the TFW Program across Canada, the federal government is inviting input from employers, workers, worker support groups, and other interested parties.

As a first step, the Government of Canada is seeking input until December 22, 2020 on proposed accommodation requirements in the TFW Program’s primary agriculture stream.

 

'Migrant laborers are paying the price for Dutch food security'

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Oct-08 Thu 11:12
2020-Oct-08 Thu 11:12
1727

Migrant workers in Dutch agriculture are faced with poor, often abusive, labor conditions. That's in stark contrast to the sector's high economic productivity. That's according to researchers. They are from the Open Society European Policy Institute and the International Institute of Social Studies at…

How to solve New Zealand’s seasonal labor shortage

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Oct-02 Fri 08:53
2020-Oct-02 Fri 08:53
1635

The new season for New Zealand’s horticulture and wine growing industry has arrived. It is worth an estimated $9.5 billion to the country’s economy. Over the past decade, strong growth in export markets has led to widespread expansion of areas under planting and a shift towards more productive,…

Agriculture Deptartment Drops Wage Floor in H-2A Farmworker Program

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Oct-01 Thu 20:06
2020-Oct-01 Thu 20:06
1626

Mexican farm workers harvest celery in a field of Brawley, California, in the Imperial Valley, on January 31, 2017. Many of the farm workers expressed fears that they would not be able to continue working in the United States under the President Trump's administration.

'This isn not a narrow industry issue, this is a matter of food and national security'

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Sep-30 Wed 09:30
2020-Sep-30 Wed 09:30
1605

A recently released report by EY details that the Australian fruit and vegetable industry is facing a workforce shortage of up to 26,000 people throughout the peak summer season. A shortage of workers will have a real impact on Australian consumers, with price increases and likely shortages of fruit and…

Report: Illegal Boat Migrants Sign Slave Labour 'Pact' with Traffickers to Reach UK

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Sep-21 Mon 11:50
2020-Sep-21 Mon 11:50
1444

Migrant workers pick Chardonnay grapes during the harvest at Hambledon Vineyard on October 3, 2018 in Hambledon, United Kingdom. Around 80 predominantly Eastern European workers have been brought in at Hambledon to pick a bumper crop of 250 tonnes of grapes this season, following a long and warm summer. As Brexit looms there is uncertainty for the British wine industry with much of the manufacturing equipment and labour currently imported from other European countries. (Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images)

CAN (BC): Better protection for foreign workers

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Sep-21 Mon 09:58
2020-Sep-21 Mon 09:58
1430

Temporary foreign workers who come to B.C. to work will be better protected now that the employers who want to hire these workers will be required to register with the Province as of Dec. 15, 2020. Employers who wish to hire foreign nationals through three federal programs — the Temporary Foreign Worker…

B.C. migrant, undocumented workers rally for permanent residency program

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Sep-19 Sat 22:12
2020-Sep-19 Sat 22:12
1422

Migrant workers and advocates called for a "just recovery'' from the COVID-19 pandemic during a digital rally on Saturday based out of Vancouver.

Labour plan will help fruit and vegetable growers supply fresh produce to Australians

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Sep-04 Fri 08:18
2020-Sep-04 Fri 08:18
1230

AUSVEG, Australia’s peak industry body for vegetable and potato growers, supports the labour plan submitted by the National Farmers’ Federation’s Horticulture Council that will help give growers confidence that they can get the workers they need to get fruits and vegetables off the farm and to consumers.…

Okanagan apple & pear growers face significant losses due to labour shortage

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Sep-04 Fri 08:14
2020-Sep-04 Fri 08:14
1233

The British Columbia Fruit Growers’ Association is once again appealing to locals to consider picking fruit as temporary employment. A similar plea was made earlier in the season, just before the cherry harvest. The plea is deemed necessary in the wake of a severe labour shortage of foreign workers.…

Michigan growers react to court ruling on migrant worker COVID-19 testing

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Sep-04 Fri 08:12
2020-Sep-04 Fri 08:12
1238

On Wednesday evening, the US Court of Appeals ruled on a very controversial case involving seasonal workers. The court denied a group of nearly 200 agricultural business owners and employees the chance to convince a judge that migrant workers should not have to be tested for COVID-19. Farmers argue that…

CAN: 1-month extension for SAWP contract

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Aug-31 Mon 09:04
2020-Aug-31 Mon 09:04
1182

SAWP workers are now permitted to continue working beyond their end-date (up to 1-month) as identified on their employer’s LMIA for the 2020 season. For information on extending work permits for workers from other Temporary Foreign Worker Program streams, please visit the government website or view the…

Scottish vegetable growers prevented from using unlicensed labour

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Aug-28 Fri 09:27
2020-Aug-28 Fri 09:27
1161

The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) has stopped a Scottish vegetable growing business from using workers provided to them by an unlicensed recruitment agency. A Labour Market Enforcement Undertaking (LMEU) has been served to the business based in Angus, north-east Scotland, which supplies…

B.C. fruit growers appeal to local residents to help with harvest as COVID-19 keeps foreign workers away

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Aug-11 Tue 17:21
2020-Aug-11 Tue 17:21
1002

Fruit growers are appealing to British Columbians in need of work to help with the remaining harvest this year.

Australian unions want to call ban on overseas seasonal workers

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Aug-11 Tue 09:38
2020-Aug-11 Tue 09:38
994

The Australian Workers' Union, the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association and the Transport Workers' Union have formed an alliance, calling for a ban on working holidaymaker visa. The unions want Australian farmers to stop hiring international backpackers to harvest their crops and instead…

Government of Canada invests in measures to boost protections for Temporary Foreign Workers and Address COVID-19 Outbreaks on Farms

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Jul-31 Fri 11:41
2020-Jul-31 Fri 11:41
889

Since the very beginning of this pandemic, the Government of Canada has taken a number of important steps to ensure the safe arrival of farm workers, who play a vital role in preserving Canada’s food security. To protect the health and safety of Canadian and migrant farm workers, the Government has been working with municipal, provincial and territorial governments, as well as farmers, workers and other employers who participate in the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program. Despite these efforts, there have been COVID-19 outbreaks on a number of Canadian farms that have significantly impacted the health and safety of workers.

Migrant justice advocacy group denounces B.C. nursery's firing of temporary foreign workers

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Submitted by Elsewhere on 2020-Jul-22 Wed 19:26
2020-Jul-22 Wed 19:26
855

An advocacy group supporting temporary foreign workers in B.C.'s Okanagan is raising concerns after two Mexican workers were fired from a West Kelowna nursery for violating the company's policies. 

Migrant workers claim cramped quarters a problem at COVID-19 stricken Okanagan farm

Profile picture for user Andrew Simard
Submitted by Andrew Simard on 2020-Jul-17 Fri 20:12
2020-Jul-17 Fri 20:12
820

Four people at Krazy Cherry Fruit Co. in Oliver B.C., have tested positive for the virus and the operation is now under restrictions imposed by Interior Health.

Three hundred Samoan fruit pickers flown home from New Zealand

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Submitted by Andrew Simard on 2020-Jul-17 Fri 08:23
2020-Jul-17 Fri 08:23
809

An Air New Zealand flight has carried 300 seasonal workers from Hawke's Bay, Blenheim, Gisborne, Martinborough and the Bay of Plenty home. The airline has been working closely with New Zealand Apples and Pears Inc, the largest employer of Samoan seasonal workers in the country. The company has been…