No More Deaths: Solidarity Rally for Garvin Yapp in Lead Up to Criminal Prosecution Against Employer
2024年7月23日 - 1:09AM
Justice for Migrant Workers (J4MW), Injured Workers Action for
Justice (IWA4J) and the Migrant Farmworker Legal Clinic (MFWLC) are
organizing a solidarity rally to demand justice for Garvin Yapp, a
migrant farmworker who was killed in a workplace accident on August
14, 2022. Comrade Yapp worked for 34 years in Canada under the
auspices of the Commonwealth Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program
(CSAWP), a labour migration scheme that brings thousands of workers
to be employed on agricultural operations across Canada.
Workers employed under the CSAWP are tied to one employer, are
denied labour and social mobility and must return to their home
country after the expiration of their contract. The rally is taking
place in advance of a scheduled pre-trial by the Province of
Ontario, who has initiated a criminal prosecution against Yapp’s
employer. The pre-trial will take place on July 25, 2024. The
province has not announced the charges against the employer.
This is the second criminal prosecution announced by the
Ministry of Labour this year. In January, a pre-trial was announced
into the death of migrant farm worker Van Ngoc Le, who was killed
at work while working at a ginseng farm near Waterford,
Ontario.
The action is being organized to demand strengthened legal
protections for all agricultural workers in the province of
Ontario. Agricultural workers are excluded from multiple provisions
of the Employment Standards Act. There are no industry specific
regulations for agriculture under the Occupational Health and
Safety Act and farmworkers do not have the right to unionize.
Migrant workers face heightened barriers to access to justice as
a result of their precarious immigration status. Multiple legal
decisions have highlighted the special vulnerabilities that migrant
workers endure, including the recent WSIAT decision in the
‘deeming’ of migrant agricultural workers.
“Since our inception in 2002, J4MW continues to see how both
levels of governments play Russian roulette with the lives of
agricultural workers. We demand answers from both the province and
the federal government. When will you take the necessary and
critical steps to end this cycle of structural violence against
agricultural workers? Proactive steps including additional legal
protections, strengthened anti reprisal mechanisms and increased
enforcement are necessary if we want to take steps to protect
agricultural workers. No worker should return home in a body bag!”
said Chris Ramsaroop, an organizer with Justice for Migrant
Workers. “We will continue to hold both levels of government to
account as their inaction will continue to lead to injuries,
illness and death until we compel both governments to level the
playing field.”
“Migrant farmworkers are injured and pass away because of the
purposeful inaction of this government. A family's only option
shouldn't be to prosecute the employer responsible for their loved
one's death,” said Taneeta Doma, a staff lawyer with the Migrant
Farmworker Legal Clinic. “The Ontario government needs to step up
and legislate stronger protections for workers, and ensure that
employers are not deciding whether or not workers are safe.”
“Until the Ontario government takes action, how many more
migrant workers have to suffer injuries or lose their lives? The
absence of enforceable provincial legislation and labour
regulations to protect workers’ rights to cooling facilities leaves
us vulnerable to hazardous working conditions,” says Sang-Hun, an
organizer with the Injured Workers Action for Justice. “We call on
the provincial government and the Legislative Assembly to pass
legislation that should include, but not be limited to, regulations
around heat, cold, and air quality. The Ontario government must
legislate trigger temperatures, proper breaks, work hours, access
to shade and water, and other comprehensive legal protections to
create a safer work environment.”
For more information please contact Chris Ramsaroop (J4MW)
647-834-4932 or ramsaroopchris@gmail.com or Taneeta Doma
519-903-7376 or j4mw.on@gmail.com
Justice for Migrant Workers (J4MW) is an all-volunteer
collective that consists of current and former workers, labour and
community activists and scholars who advocate for fairness, dignity
and respect for agricultural workers.
The Migrant Farmworker Clinic (MFWLC) is the first legal clinic
for migrant farmworkers in Canada, and is a project founded by J4MW
in collaboration with Windsor Law. It uses a “law and organizing”
framework and offers a place for racialized migrant farmworkers to
address their complex, intersectional legal needs while
simultaneously building structural power to challenge systemic
oppressions.
Injured Workers Action for Justice (IWA4J) is a grassroots
organization of injured workers and their families who fight for
fair compensation and respect from the WSIB.