UNDER pressure, Minister of Labour and Social Security Karl Samuda has appointed a special fact-finding team to investigate the working conditions of Jamaican workers under the Canadian Seasonal Agricultural Workers (farm work) Programme.

In a terse release on Thursday, the labour ministry said a six-member tripartite team is expected to travel to Canada to observe operations and speak with workers on the farms, and provide a report to Samuda.

Samuda had initially scheduled a media conference for Thursday but this was postponed and replaced with the two-paragraph statement as more and more questions were raised following his claim that during a recent visit to Canada he saw “no evidence of mistreatment” of the farm workers.

Among those questioning the position of the labour minister was the Advocates Network which charged that Samuda’s response to a letter from Jamaican farm workers complaining about living conditions and human rights abuses on Canadian farms was unacceptable.

“According to an Al Jazeera report on August 22, 2022, the farm workers, who are affiliated with the human rights group Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, described their experience as ‘systematic slavery’ and being ‘treated like mules’,” the group noted.

In pointing to the response from Samuda after he reportedly visited two farms in Canada, the Advocates Network charged that the minister had, “effectively dismissed the pleas for assistance by the farm workers”.

The group noted that the farm workers have said that they feel betrayed and see it as, “A slap in the face of every farm worker and our families”.

The Advocacy Network charged that this was regrettable as Jamaican citizens should have confidence in the Government’s protection and defence of their rights.

“The Advocacy Network calls upon the Government of Jamaica to immediately reverse its position and launch swift and thorough investigations into these allegations, as well as other allegations of human rights abuses in the farm worker programme.

“We expect the Government to take the necessary corrective actions recommended after the investigations and to fully comply with our obligations under international law.

“In 2008, Jamaica signed and ratified the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (General Assembly resolution 45/158, December 18, 1990). The Convention, which aims to eliminate the exploitation of workers in the migration process, explicitly protects migrant workers from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

According to the Advocacy Network, “The depth of these allegations is too damning to go unchallenged or swept aside”.