Critics want more done to keep farmworkers safe after 2007 deadly crash

ABBOTSFORD (NEWS 1130) – Three farmworkers killed in, what the BC Federation of Labour describes as a “tragic and preventable crash” 11 years ago will be honoured at an annual candlelight vigil in Abbotsford today.

In March 2007, a 15-passenger van was carrying 17 women when it skidded out of control on Highway 1 and slammed into a concrete median. Thirty-one-year-old Sarbjit Kaur Sidhu, 52-year-old Amarjit Kaur Bal and 46-year-old Sukhvider Kaur Puna were killed.

There were only two seatbelts in the van. Workers had been sitting on a wooden bench rather than individual seats. The driver wasn’t properly licenced and the employer had a fraudulent permit.

The labour group’s Irene Lanzinger says issues around conditions for farmworkers were addressed after the crash, but she admits some vigilance has dropped off.

“This is a kind of cycle that happens when workers die. There is a huge amount of attention to safety issues right after but those conditions are not maintained over time.”

She adds other issues — like confined spaces and weather conditions for workers — are also being highlighted. “Part of this is to remind the Workers’ Compensation Board to remind employers that they should be inspecting these vans, that the vans should be safe and that people should be assured that they have safe transportation to work.”

Lanzinger says the annual vigil also allows those gathering to continue advocating and voicing their demands for better working conditions in this province. “These were women who were in an overloaded, unsafe bus. There weren’t enough seatbelts… and these women were being transported to the field.”

A coroner’s inquest in 2009 resulted in 18 recommendations.

The vigil is at the Matsqui Auditorium.