Canadian News: Alberta Farmworkers Should Be Extended Full Employment Rights
Today the Alberta Federation of Labour is using a plea for Alberta farmworkers to be extended basic employment rights and protections. This was spurred on by the farmworker tradgedy in BC where three farmworkers died in a traffic accident. Gil McGowan the AFL President says that the issue must be dealth with now in order that they may avoid future tragedies in the farm industry.
McGowan says that Alberta farmworkers enjoy even less protection than their counterparts do in BC. "Alberta farmworkers have no basic employment protections such as minimum wage, limits on hours of work, rest breaks, overtime or statuary holiday pay. They enjoy no health and safety protection, nor do they qualify for WCB when they get injured."
"It is unconscionable that the only time attention is paid to the plight of farmworkers is in the aftermath of tragedies like the recent fatal traffic accident in BC or the death of Kevan Chandler on a farm near Black Diamond last June," says McGowan.
"I have asked Minister Evans to act now to extend basic workplace protections to Alberta farmworkers," says McGowan.
Gil McGowan has requested an urgent meeting to discuss the the issue with Minster Evans.
"If we begin the process to correct this social injustice now," concludes McGowan, "we can prevent future farmworker fatalities and suffering in Alberta."
