Mexican Consulate asked Ontario Government to monitor compliance with agricultural worker rights

In early October, the Mexican Consulate participated in the provincial operational review meeting of the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP), convened by the Foreign Agricultural Resources Administration Services Organization (FARMS) and the National Employment Service (SNE) of the Mexican Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare (STPS). The central objective of the operational meeting was to evaluate the implementation of the bilateral labour mobility program with the Province of Ontario and to exchange perspectives on how to update the contract model for the 2022 season. The Consulate discussed the working conditions of seasonal workers, wage imbalances in Ontario’s agribusiness sector as well as the measures taken by the provincial authorities to protect foreign agricultural workers in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The SAWP offers an orderly and legal temporary employment alternative for Mexican farm workers in Canada. According to the Mexican Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (STPS), 9,810 men and 242 women were employed in the SAWP in Ontario this agricultural season.