Labour and Social Security Minister, Pearnel Charles Jr., will be visiting several farms under the Overseas Farm Work Programme in North America amid investigations into recent allegations of victimisation.
Five farm workers participating in the programme were repatriated to Jamaica on August 8.
Speaking on the Nationwide News Network radio segment 'Ask the Minister' today, the Minister said the visit, which is part of the ongoing investigations, is intended to get an account of the situation.
“I want to go so I can actually get a pretty accurate read of the circumstances to be able to know that the conversations and discussions that we are having are bearing positive fruit,” Charles Jr. said.
The Minister pointed out that there may be several reasons for the return of the workers.
“In relation to the individuals who were returned, those are five of over 40 farm workers who have returned from several different farms, and it is not unusual for persons to be returned. If you have changes in climatic conditions or other reasons, the farmer may have to return persons early,” he noted.
The Minister, along with senior ministry officials with responsibility for the Overseas Employment Programme have already met with the workers and other stakeholders to get a first-hand account of the matter.
“The Liaison Officer, in observation and discussions with the farm management team, [said] they were returned because of a reduction in crop yield, which in a normal thing. Whenever you have a weather incident that affects the crop production or the crop yield, they won't have as much yield for persons to work and so they will usually return one, two or three persons. That doesn't mean that we are accepting that must be the reason,” he said.
Charles Jr. assured that the Ministry is committed to protecting the rights and interests of the workers, as well as the integrity of the programme.
He said farm workers are advised to report challenges to their supervisors and to escalate reports to their assigned liaison officer as needed.
The Minister said while there may be myriad reasons for the return of the workers, the Ministry must investigate the allegations of victimisation.
“Once we hear any concerns or insinuation of victimisation… we still have a responsibility to investigate, and we have continued that process by meeting with the farm workers themselves and by continuing to do some investigation. The rights and interests of our farm workers are our priority. After that, it is maintaining the integrity of this programme and maintaining the relationships that we have,” he said.
- JIS News
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