While Justice for Migrant Workers is upset about the recent outbreak at an area farm – they aren’t surprised.
We spoke with Chris Ramsaroop about the local outbreak that saw 164 individuals test positive for COVID-19 at one farm.
While he can’t speak on the specific conditions at Scotlynn Group, he does say a systematic change is needed in the farming community and he hopes outbreaks like this will at least do some good in the sense that it should spark a conversation.
As he noted, Norfolk County is not alone in this.
Outbreaks have recently been declared in the Niagara Region and St. Thomas.
He says many farms across the country have similar work and living conditions that prove to be ideal for something like the novel coronavirus to spread.
Following the news of the outbreak, Scotlynn Farms made a plea to the public for assistance to harvest their asparagus crops.
They were asking for groups of five locals to come forward with a promise of $25 per hour for roughly a 9-hour shift almost every day.
This is to make up for the migrant workers who are in self-isolation for 14-days as a minimum.
Ramsaroop says Justice of Migrant Workers is always advocating for equal and fair treatment for workers who have left their country to work here in Canada.
While he admits he doesn’t know the amount of money migrant workers are being paid at Scotlynn, he is hoping that with this public statement putting a value of $25 an hour on the job, that this is the wage that is or will be paid to seasonal workers.
Justice for Migrant workers is also concerned about the rest of this year and the following year for migrant workers across Canada.
Many times, if a migrant worker is injured or becomes too ill, a farm can dismiss them and send them back home.
He says this is something that would be especially hard as many workers as many were delayed in arriving in Canada because of travel restrictions meaning they are already bringing home less income than they had previously expected.
We have reached out to Scotlynn Group with an interview request but have not heard back from them at this time.