Immigration doesn’t always have to be a polemic issue as far as Mexico’s northern neighbors are concerned. Take Canada’s migrant farm worker system, in which Mexicans travel north for seasonal jobs, many returning to the same employers year after year.
Around 26,000 migrants from Mexico and 11 Caribbean nations take part in the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP). The largest number come from Mexico, and Jalisco provides more than any other Mexican state – 492 in 2015.
The work is restricted to “primary agriculture” performed within the boundaries of a farm, nursery or greenhouse. It may involve the operation of machinery, the care and handling of animals, and the planting or harvesting of crops. Other activities that require more specialized training are not permitted.
The source countries are responsible for recruiting the workers. In Mexico that task falls to the Ministry of Labor (Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social or STPS) and the National Employment Service (Servicio Nacional del Empleo Jalisco or SNEJ).
“The contracts are usually between two and eight months,” says Hector Pizano Ramos STPS director in Jalisco. “The work mostly center of the planting or harvesting of crops, canning or packaging, or working in greenhouses.”
Workers sign employment contracts that have been negotiated between the Canadian and Mexican governments. Work permits are tied to a single employer and the migrants cannot work for anyone else during their time in Canada. Wages hover between CAN$10.50 and 11.50 an hour. The foreign workers do not have to pay for their accommodation but are deducted for pension, income tax and employment insurance. Employers must enroll them in a provincial health care plan.
Flights to and from Canada are paid for by the employer and then discounted on a weekly basis from the worker’s wages.
Cresencio Gomez Barajas from Unión de Tula, Jalisco has been returning to Canada for the past 15 years and has risen to the role of supervisor on a vegetable farm in Ontario. “It’s gone well for me. I work for eight months a year and get paid $11.25 an hour. I can maintain my family”
Applicants should be aged between 22 and 40, have a minimum education up to third level of primary school, be able to read and write and, preferably be married or in a steady relationship.
While most migrants who participate in the program speak highly of its benefits, there has been some criticism from within Canada, most specifically concerning the monitoring of work sites to ensure employers are compliant with its conditions. An automobile accident last September in which several migrant farm workers died highlighted the issue of workplace safety and protections.
Another issue that has been raised by labor rights advocates is that workers who keep returning to Canada each year are barred from applying for permanent residency, in contrast to skilled immigrants.
Mexican citizens who are interested in the program can get further information at the SNEJ office at Paseo Degollado 54 in Guadalajara’s city center.