On international Worker’s Day

More than 800 migrants estimated to be working in P.E.I.

Today is international Worker’s Day, a worldwide celebration and acknowledgement of labourers and the working classes and a reminder of the need to continue fighting for justice and the rights of workers around the world.

Today we remember the strike that began on May 1, 1886, that resulted in the execution of a group of trade unionists for participating in the fight for an eight-hour working day. This day became a protest day for the rights of the workers in other countries and it is now celebrated worldwide.

One group of workers that deserve recognition today are migrant workers. In the past 10 years the number of migrant workers coming to Canada through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) has more than doubled. This program has come under scrutiny as awareness of how it puts workers in vulnerable and precarious situations becomes more widespread.

In P.E.I., it is estimated that there are more than 800 migrant workers. They are vital contributors to our Island economy and to our food system. They live and work in our communities and have become our family, our spouses, our neighbours and our friends.

The lived experience of migrant workers in Canada is not easy. The systems we have in place put them in vulnerable situations with few options and no freedom to speak out about their circumstances.

The temporary work permits granted to migrant workers are “closed,” or tied to one specific employer, which takes away their ability to demand safe and fair working and living conditions for fear of losing their job and being deported. Workers often live in employer-provided housing, which is not monitored for health and safety.

Workers do not always have access to healthcare coverage on arrival. Health card regulations are managed provincially and, in P.E.I., workers sometimes go months without a health card or any health coverage. For the past two years, Canada has been issuing 180-day work permits to some workers. However, P.E.I. requires a 181-day work permit to issue a health card — leaving many workers without a health card. Third-party recruitment agencies are sometimes involved in the process of bringing workers to Canada through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Some workers pay hundreds to thousands of dollars in recruiting fees in order to get the opportunity to work a minimum-wage job here in Canada. This can be equivalent to two or three years of wages in their home currency, and can require families to take out huge loans to pay this informal, exploitative fee. In P.E.I., we currently have no laws against unfair recruitment fees.

While working in Canada, migrant workers pay taxes, including Employment Insurance premiums, however workers under the Seasonal Agricultural Worker stream are unable to ever collect the money that they pay into EI, and other workers who are eligible are routinely denied due to very slow processing times of work permits.

In the face of such precariousness, it is important for Islanders to stand in solidarity with the migrant workers on P.E.I. and call for necessary policy changes. Change is possible, and we all have the capacity to help create a more just and equitable community.

Please consider writing to your MLA to ask for the P.E.I. government to put legislation in place that bans unfair recruitment fees and regulations for monitoring working and living conditions of migrant workers. We have a petition for this that you can come and sign at the Voluntary Resource Centre.

If you would like to learn more about migrant workers, or to hear about upcoming events, please “like” our new Facebook page: PEI Action Team for Migrant Worker Rights. Or look up migrant workers at cooperinstitute.ca.