The Ministry of Labour and Social Security says it has invited a group of farm workers who’ve made complaints about victimization to a meeting.
This comes in the wake of a Jamaica Observer report earlier this week, that the farmer workers, who went public about the sub-par living and working conditions on a Canadian farm, were suddenly dismissed by the company’s owner in June.
Their complaint triggered an intense probe at the Ontario farm.
Tauna Thomas reports.
In a statement, the Ministry reiterated that it considers all complaints from farm workers seriously and that it has taken particular note of the allegations.
The ministry says it’s unable to substantiate the allegations and has received no formal complaint from the workers.
However, due to the serious nature of the allegations, it has invited the workers to a meeting on Friday to hear directly from them as they continue to investigate the matter.
Meanwhile, the Labour Ministry says its preliminary investigations have revealed that several farm workers, who were a party to the incident earlier in July, are still on the job in Canada.
It was further disclosed that early cessation of employment is a common occurrence based on circumstances affecting crop production, as is observed on several farms in Canada.
According to the preliminary information, for the farm in issue, there has been a notable fallout in production yield from the early cycle crops—asparagus and strawberries.
The early probe has also revealed that, based on changes in climatic conditions, the Spring frost impacted crop production, causing a decline in projected crop yields.
The ministry says it will continue to investigate the matter thoroughly and communicate its findings.
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