Lack of care for migrant workers

Re: Social after-work activities of migrant workers perhaps playing role in virus spread, guest column by Lloyd Brown-john, June 13

The “let’s blame the worker” opinion piece is an outrage for anyone who knows the plight of migrant workers.

Abuse of migrant workers is proven in many reports, documentaries and first-person accounts by workers. Now there’s COVID-19. I believe it’s the monopoly of power that growers possess as the reason workers are getting sick and dying.

Brown-john laments that “social interactions away from company premises cannot either be significantly controlled nor prohibited.”

Perhaps he hasn’t heard of growers hiring security guards to do just that.

He implies workers are too irresponsible to be trusted to do the right thing. Are we to further strip dignity from these workers? There are citizens breaking the rules all over the region. Will we confine them to the barracks?

Migrant workers are a permanent underclass denied rights, subject to unjust living and working conditions, even sometimes racist abuse.

Brown-john makes the case workers are skilled and essential. But instead of mobilizing all resources to save their lives, workers are dying because health and safety protocols are too often left to the discretion of growers.

Migrant workers are in many cases at the mercy of the growers who detest attempts by any agencies who tread on their turf — even public health authorities have deferred to the growers.

Growers form a formidable political lobby that has fended off union drives, government regulations and calls for permanent residency/ citizenship status.

If good farmers Brownjohn cites really care, they should be clamouring for more help to save lives — no matter the cost.

Paul Chislett, Windsor