Labour minister outlines plan to address farm work concerns

The labour ministry is to begin holding meetings on Wednesday with stakeholders following concerns raised by some farm workers in Ontario, Canada.

Labour minister Pearnel Charles Jr had promised a probe into the living and working conditions of the workers after a group of them stayed off the job recently.

In a media release on Tuesday, Charles said he has received a full brief on the complaints and outlined a number of actions to be taken going forward.

As part of that, meetings are to be held with employers, liaison officers and farm workers.

The release said those meetings would begin with the ministry's Canadian Liaison Officers on Wednesday morning.

Charles said he has also requested a comprehensive report from the Chief Liaison Officer regarding existing concerns and an update of general activities of the Jamaica Central Labour Organization.

The Management Committee, chaired by Permanent Secretary Colette Roberts-Risden, is also to review protocols, guidelines and activities relating to delivery of service to farm workers and provide recommendations for improvements.

Charles said a meeting and review session will be held with the fact-finding team, which recently visited farms in Canada.

The ministry is also reminding farm workers of the established toll-free lines available to them to contact the ministry directly on any matters of concern.

In addition, farm workers are encouraged to report breaches of Employment to Service Canada.