Migrant workers deemed 'disposable' before and during pandemic, Manitoba advocates say

Advocates for migrant workers in Manitoba are calling on the provincial and federal governments to do more to ensure their rights are protected beyond the pandemic, following the release of a scathing report released by Canada's auditor general on Friday.

The federal department tasked with inspecting farms that hire temporary foreign workers failed to keep tabs on how well employers were protecting their staff during the pandemic, Canada's auditor general said in a report.

Inspectors working for Employment and Social Development Canada didn't properly enforce pandemic regulations designed to protect workers from COVID-19, frequently skipping checks on whether employers offered cleaning products, separate accommodations for workers who tested positive and dedicated quarantine spaces for workers who were supposed to self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival in Canada, Auditor General Karen Hogan said.

The revelations in the report are not at all surprising, said Diwa Marcelino, an organizer with Migrante Manitoba, which advocates for the roughly 12,000 migrant workers in the province. 

That's because he says these workers are deemed "disposable" and have been well before the pandemic was declared nearly two years ago, Marcelino said.

"There are programs in place that the Canadian government has made in response to COVID-19, but the fact remains that most workers are in a precarious situation because of the temporary foreign worker program itself," he said in an interview with CBC News on Friday.

Marcelino said that power imbalance meant workers felt pressured to go to work even when it didn't feel safe to.

He says some migrant workers expressed concerns about not having enough distancing in the workplace, and some even tried to work with Migrante Manitoba to have meat processing facilities shut down because there were so many cases of COVID-19.

"This is a standard that was applied to all folks around the world that six feet was a distance, but unfortunately for workers in the meat processing industry, it seemed that they didn't have to abide by those rules," Marcelino said.

Even vaccines were difficult for some migrant workers to access well into the summer, he said, in spite of the fact that people living in congregate living facilities were eligible weeks prior. 

All of these issues are showing the provincial and federal governments aren't doing enough to protect temporary foreign workers, Marcelino said.

He wants to see Canada sign onto the International Declaration on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, which would show the country respects their contribution to the country.

'A serious problem'

Rico Manaloto came to Canada in 2019 as a migrant worker from the Philippines, and now works as an industrial butcher in Manitoba.

He says the problems with the temporary foreign worker program were the same in 2019 as they are today. Workers can't take legitimate problems to their employers without fear of reprisal.

"All the good things that I planned for my life and for my family, for our future, it's here in Canada, but sometimes it's sad you experience these kinds of things. It's so stressful," he said.

Manaloto wants to see better access to health care for temporary foreign workers and more work done to address the power imbalance inherent in the program.

"This is a serious problem. If we don't have equal rights, like me as a temporary foreign worker, how can I survive? How can I support my family? How can I live the best life that I can get?"