Minister Pearnel Charles Jr has identified a significant issue within the Canadian Seasonal Agricultural Workers Programme (SAWP) involving a growing number of Jamaican farmworkers absconding, labelling it a "big problem" with severe implications for Jamaica's involvement in the initiative. Charles Jr highlighted the adverse impact on farms and investments when workers run off, leading to frustration and the exploration of alternatives by employers.

Farm workers running off a big problem

Jamaica Gleaner/4 Jan 2024/Sashana Small/Staff Reporter

MINISTER OF Labour and Social Security Pearnel Charles Jr has labelled as a“big problem”the number of Jamaican farm workers who abscond when participating in the Canadian Seasonal Agricultural Workers Programme (SAWP).

It is an issue, he said, that has serious implications for Jamaica’s participation in the programme.

“Because when they run off you have a deleterious impact on the farm. Persons have invested in you coming up. They have structured their whole strategy on you being there. If two, three, persons leave, it now shifts all of what they have to do, and of course, people become frustrated and they look towards alternatives,” he said.

A fact-finding commission appointed to probe conditions of the farm work programme in September 2022 revealed that the number of workers running off was on the increase.

Co-chair of the commission, trade unionist Helene Davis Whyte, told The Gleaner that this information prompted the commission to recommend that greater diligence be taken when selecting candidates.

“We had put in one of the recommendations that more care should be given in the selection of the persons because it appeared that some persons only wanted to get there and then they would have absconded right after,” she said.

But Charles Jr asserted that his ministry began swiftly implementing the recommendations from the commission, which included increasing the number of liaison officers, restructuring of the liaison services, and improving the orientation of the selection of workers.

Speaking to The Gleaner at the inaugural send-off ceremony for farm workers participating in the Canadian SAWP, the minister also shared that phase two of the recommendations, which involves engaging stakeholders, will commence next week.

“We’re going to be meeting with members of Parliament to introduce to them the new framework around selection and orientation and how to provide them with the information so they know how important it is, their responsibility in determining who is on the programme, and getting the right persons to the interview process,” he said.

Additionally, he said the ministry is engaging in discussions regarding regulations relating to persons who are in the programme, those who leave the programme in an informal way, and how the farmers in Canada are dealing with that issue.

“We have determined that it is important for us to play our part as Jamaica in terms of making workers know how their actions of running off impact other potential candidates,” he said.

And while noting that it is primarily younger recruits who are running off, the minister stressed that this should not diminish their chances to participate in the programme.

“You have young recruits that are excellent; youngsters who go up and they are doing very well, so it’s really a matter of the attitude and the mindset and that’s part of what we are trying to see if we can adjust by ensuring greater and more robust orientation and a more comprehensive introduction to them so they can know what the programme is about, what they’re going to confront and be prepared to really go up and do their best,” he said.

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