Migrant worker health study challenged

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

by SUSAN MANN

A study documenting migrant workers’ health problems contains lots of wild and unsubstantiated claims, says Ontario Federal of Agriculture vice president Mark Wales.

The study, called Temporary Migration, Chronic Effects: the Health of International Migrant Workers in Canada, was posted Monday on the Canadian Medical Association Journal website. The authors say workers are suffering from persistent back pain, eye and skin disorders and mental health problems. Their problems are linked to the grueling work they do on Canadian farms and poor living conditions. The authors surveyed 600 migrant workers in Ontario from 2007 to 2009.

Wales says the study fails to differentiate between the Seasonal Agricultural Worker program, which is highly regulated by the federal government, and the Low Skills program, which never really had many rules. He says the rules for the seasonal worker program have been around for more than 30 years.

“Those rules are agreed between the government of Canada and the governments of the Caribbean islands where the workers come from and the government of Mexico,” he explains.

About 30,000 workers come to Ontario under the seasonal worker program, usually from April to November. Wales says Ontario farmers use 2,000 to 3,000 workers under the low skills program.

Wales also questions why the study authors didn’t interview farmers or the liaison officers from the different countries supplying workers. Employees with problems can contact their country’s liaison officer any time during the day or night. And they’re told of that right on a regular basis.

Another study, called Doctors Within Borders: Meeting the Health Care Needs of Migrant Farm Workers in Canada, was also posted on the Medical Association Journal’s website Monday.

Authors in both studies say there’s a need for stringent federal housing regulations, better safety training, free safety equipment provided to workers, and for officials to ensure workers know their rights to health care. BF