An Ontario migrant agricultural worker says that there is a “evil” in a proposal from the federal government that could allow employers to charge workers more than 30 percent of their housing income.
The alliance of migrant workers for shared change with the Canadian press a document of discussion of employment and social development of Canada. The document describes the possible regulations for a new current of temporary workers for agricultural workers and fish processing.
The planned current would include specific work permits in the sector. That would allow temporary workers to work for any qualified employer in a specific field, instead of having their work permit linked to specific work.
This new current is not expected to be active up to 2027 as very soon, according to the discussion document.
The discussion document establishes a variety of possible housing deductions that employers could charge for refuge. At the highest end of that range, the government is considering a 30 percent deduction of income before taxes, around $ 1,000 per month, according to the discussion document.
A migrant worker from Jamaica, the Canadian press agreed not to name it, due to her fear of reprisals from her employer, said that if the highest level of deduction is implemented, her weekly payment package after taxes of $ 600 will extend even thinner.
“That is evil. I’m working for $ 17.23 per hour,” he said.
“It seems that they want the program to become more difficult because if I am working, and they are taking a lot of money, then I will have nothing to send back to my family or buy food here in Canada just to survive.”
A statement of employment and social development of Canada, the agency that supervises the temporary workers program, said it celebrated an “extensive consultation” on the agriculture and fish processing current. This includes conversations with international partners, interested parties of the industry and support organizations of migrant workers, such as the Alliance of Migrant Workers for Change.
The “paper consultation” included these discussion documents, which cover issues such as medical care, transport provided by the employer, salaries and deductions.
This consultation process is over, and federal employment and immigration officials are reviewing the comments.
The Canadian mortgage and housing corporation defines affordable homes as anything that costs less than 30 percent of the income before taxes of a home.
The discussion document says that the lower housing deduction that the federal government considers five percent, which estimates that workers would cost around $ 180 per month.
The amount that can be charged to a migrant worker for a housing deduction depends on the type of temporary work program in which they are.
Those in the seasonal program of agricultural workers cannot be charged by their employer by housing. Workers with low salary current permits, such as those who work for fish processors, can be charged up to 30 percent of their earnings for homes provided by the employer.
Syed Hussan, executive director of the Alliance of Migrant Workers for Change, said that a deduction of houses of 30 percent would be “a massive robbery” of wages “without improving their lives.”
“It is incredibly hypocritical that is framed as improvements and a response to the United Nations that calls the Canadian temporal immigration system a cultivation broth for exploitation and slavery,” he said.
Last year, the UN published a report that says that the Canada Temporary Workers Program is a “cultivation broth for contemporary forms of slavery” because it links work permits to the work.
The report says that this creates an institutionalized energy imbalance because workers can be deported if they are fired and employers have “limited incentives to guarantee decent working conditions.”
The Jamaican migrant worker said they have told him that he needs to continue working and stay in line because there are “10 Jamaicans more waiting for his job.”
“We really have no choice because if we had an option I would be at home with my family. The employment situation in Jamaica is not really good. It is difficult at this time,” he said.
Hussan also said that the housing standards that Ottawa quotes in the discussion document is inappropriate and not enforceable. The discussion document cites the need for “sufficient” “adequate” plumbing.
Hussan said that this seems like a change of the 2020 proposal of the Federal Government for housing regulations, which say that migrant workers should be able to maintain an interior temperature of 20 to 25 degrees.
The migrant worker who spoke with the Canadian press said that he and his roommates often need to stay out until 10 or 11 pm so that his spots house can cool because he does not have air conditioning.
“There is no A/C at home and that’s fine, it is legal for them. The bosses are not breaking any rule because at the beginning of the season, these houses are supposed to be inspected and approved by the relevant authorities so that they do not break any rule,” he said.
The alliance for the change of migrant workers said that they want to see migrant workers who are given the status of permanent residence, so they are in better conditions to defend their rights.
The government discussion document talks about the creation of a specific permit of the sector for the agricultural and planned fish processing current. This would mean that someone who maintains this type of permission could work for any qualified employer instead of having their work permit linked to specific work.
Hussan said that this proposal would not yet provide labor mobility because the group of employers who meet the criteria of the program is small, and rural areas where many seasonal workers live and work often have a poor cell coverage or internet.
“If you are working in New Brunswick, how do you discover that there is an employer in Ontario, or in BC or Quebec that has a non -full (impact assessment of the labor market), right?” Hussan said.
“If you wanted labor mobility, you would say: ‘You can work anywhere.’ That is what you and I have, the ability to change jobs.”
