Lima | Reuters — Protests by farm workers demanding better wages in Peru raged on for a fourth day Thursday, spreading north into key agricultural areas of the Andean nation, derailing harvests of some crops, snarling transport of produce and leaving at least one dead. Peruvian interim President Francisco Sagasti called the death of a […] Read more
Tag Archives farm workers — page 2
Peru farm protests grip country, turn deadly
'There are no harvests, there is nothing'
Federal program to protect farms, workers from COVID-19 underway
'Highest-risk' farming operations to get priority, Bibeau says
Applications are now open for a federally-administered $35 million emergency on-farm support fund to help limit the impacts of COVID-19 on farms and on-farm workers. Aimed at farm workplaces and employee living quarters, the fund is being managed by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), but cost-shared with participating producers at a 50-50 level. Money is […] Read more
Chinese researchers warn of new virus in pigs with human pandemic risk
Shanghai | Reuters — A new flu virus found in Chinese pigs has become more infectious to humans and needs to be watched closely in case it becomes a potential “pandemic virus,” a study said, although experts said there is no imminent threat. A team of Chinese researchers looked at influenza viruses found in pigs […] Read more
Ontario pledges farm recruiter crackdown as COVID-19 outbreaks grow
Ford rips 'fly-by-nighters just trying to make a quick buck'
Toronto | Reuters –– Ontario will crack down on “fly-by-night” recruitment agencies sending workers on to farms, the premier said on Monday, after a testing blitz identified a major coronavirus outbreak on a farm in southwestern Ontario. “We’re reaching out to all the farmers, we’re getting a list of these recruitment agencies. We found out […] Read more
Tam seeks details on Ontario’s COVID-19 farm worker guidelines
Windsor-Essex area reports six ag-related outbreaks as of Thursday
Ottawa/Toronto | Reuters — Canada’s top public health official said on Thursday she plans to seek more information from Ontario about the province’s plan to allow some COVID-19 positive people with no symptoms to return to their jobs — a risky policy, according to workers’ advocates and some doctors. Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, issued […] Read more
Farm workers cram daily into U.S.-Mexico border tunnel
Labourers line up hundreds deep for hours despite contagion risk
Mexicali | Reuters — Every night, hundreds of farm workers in Mexico crowd for hours in a cramped tunnel to a border station to reach day jobs in Imperial Valley, California, with no social distancing enforced despite coronavirus cases saturating hospitals in the region. By 2 a.m. on Tuesday, tense men and women with cloth […] Read more
Trump administration aims to buy milk, meat to help farmers, Perdue says
Homeland Security to ease visa rules for ag workers
Reuters — The U.S. government plans to buy milk and meat from farmers as part of an initial US$15.5 billion effort to help them weather the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said on Wednesday. The decision comes amid rising pressure from the U.S. farm lobby for government purchases as growers and […] Read more
Farmers to know soon whether new wage supports work for them
Top-up also en route for low-wage essential workers; CERB also tweaked
Ottawa — Agricultural employers may soon find out whether changes to the Canada Summer Jobs program, and other new federal supports on the way, will result in more workers for the sector. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Wednesday said officials are reviewing requests from employers to see which ones will qualify to have 100 […] Read more
Ontario launches web portal to connect farmers and workers
Initiative to help match workers with farm operations who need them
To help ensure grocery shelves continue to stay full during COVID-19 the Ontario government is launching a new web portal, connecting workers with employers looking to fill positions in the agri-food sector. The tool will make it easier to match people to jobs and training resources throughout the provincial food supply chain, which has been […] Read more
Canadian, U.S. farms face crop losses on foreign worker delays
Winnipeg/Chicago | Reuters — Mandatory coronavirus quarantines of seasonal foreign workers in Canada could hurt that country’s fruit and vegetable output this year, and travel problems related to the pandemic could also leave U.S. farmers with fewer workers than usual. Foreign labour is critical to farm production in both countries, where domestic workers shun the […] Read more
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