Workers say they were punished for trying to join union
Posted February 20, 2012 7:37 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The Labour Relations Board has heard from seasonal farm workers from Mexico who say their former employer got them barred from Canada for trying to join a union.
Andy Neufeld with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union says the workers were turned away at the border.
“The fate of a lot of migrant workers is hanging in the balance here in terms of their ability to come to Canada and earn an income, and in many cases a lot of these migrant workers have been coming to Canada for years. All of a sudden we found that they were told that they’re no longer welcome,” Neufeld says.
“You know, it’s not about all of a sudden making these high-wage workers, this is more about addressing some really fundamental working conditions and labour rights.”
The hearings started at the Labour Relations Board on Monday.
