These former farm workers won a standards case in B.C. They told CBC about their working conditions

Stephanie Ramirez says she worked 15-hour shifts and drank up to 3 Monster Energy drinks a time to support herself going. Until 1 day, her assemblage gave retired and she collapsed connected the job.

Ramirez is simply a Guatemalan workplace idiosyncratic whose communicative Canadians mightiness not ordinarily hear. But CBC News has learned she is 1 of 5 workers who were collectively awarded astir $80,000 successful a B.C. Employment Standards Branch determination involving a Fraser Valley employer.

Yet erstwhile the national section that oversees the impermanent overseas idiosyncratic programme conducted an probe into the workers' complaints, it recovered nary problems and gave the aforesaid leader a cleanable audit.

"Quite often, these kinds of things conscionable get swept nether the rug," said Jenna Hennebry, a prof astatine the Balsillie School of International Affairs and International Migration Research Centre astatine Wilfrid Laurier University successful Waterloo, Ont. 

"This.… is 1 of a fewer cases that person produced results for workers. But it's inactive a motion that things are not working."

The B.C. decisions, issued successful January 2025, notation to events that occurred astatine Abbotsford-based Sahota Farms, Valley Select Foods and Triple S Greenhouses — which the Employment Standards Branch considered to beryllium a azygous leader — successful the outpouring and summertime of 2021. 

The B.C. probe recovered the companies underpaid the workers with respect to wages, overtime and abrogation pay, and misrepresented the jobs of immoderate of the workers to the national government. 

In immoderate cases, the B.C. determination recovered the institution misrepresented the magnitude of employment, terminating workers without announcement months earlier their contracts were up. Workers specified arsenic Ramirez were besides required to regularly enactment 15- to 17-hour shifts, for aggregate days astatine a time.

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Muller Ojeda, the quality resources typical for Triple S Greenhouses — which helium says is simply a abstracted ineligible and operational entity from Sahota Farms and Valley Select Foods — said the companies passed a national audit successful June 2023. 

"We admit the decisions made by the (B.C.) Employment Standards Branch and are presently reviewing the findings successful detail. We reserve the close to entreaty against the decision," helium said successful an emailed statement.

Three of the workers progressive successful the determination agreed to talk to CBC News. They said Service Canada ne'er interviewed them astir their experiences moving successful the Fraser Valley.

'A amended life'

Daniel Concha-Hernandez worked connected farms each his beingness successful Chile and earned a grade successful agronomic engineering. He jumped astatine the accidental to enactment successful Canada. 

"I permission my occupation [in Chile] due to the fact that I deliberation present I person a truly bully opportunity, a amended job, a amended house, a amended life," helium said successful an interrogation with CBC.  

He came to Canada successful June 2021 with his partner, Francisca Reyes. Both had offers of employment with Sahota Farms. Almost immediately, however, the mates noticed thing was off.

They had been hired to bash prime power work. According to the Employment Standards decision, that included grading nutrient based connected its size and weight; putting it done metallic detectors and X-ray machines; preparing and administering chemicals to cleanable the produce; and reporting connected the quantity and prime of the effect processed. Both Concha-Hernandez and Reyes person nonrecreational expertise successful this area. 

However, erstwhile they received their contracts, Concha-Hernandez and Reyes didn't recognize wherefore their jobs were described arsenic workplace workers, chiefly acrophobic with tract enactment specified arsenic weeding, pruning, irrigation and harvesting. 

Their Labour Market Impact Assessments — the national authorization required by employers who prosecute overseas workers — likewise described their jobs arsenic workplace workers.

The favoritism is important, due to the fact that B.C. instrumentality does not necessitate employers to wage workplace workers overtime oregon statutory vacation pay. The complaint of wage for prime power workers is besides typically higher than that of workplace workers.

When Concha-Hernandez and Reyes arrived astatine their workplace accommodation, Reyes described it arsenic "horrible."

"The location wherever we unrecorded determination was precise dirty, successful precise mediocre condition. I retrieve that my furniture was dirty. The sheets [were] dirty, too," she recalled. "It was looking similar idiosyncratic was sleeping determination earlier I arrived."

Reyes besides said nary 1 told them that nutrient scraps were expected to beryllium separated from garbage. All the garbage from her accommodation and the adjacent location wherever the Mexican workers lived went into 1 large bin, which she says was not emptied during the months she was there. As a result, she says her accommodation was infested with rats.

"The odor was horrible," she said.

Ojeda did not reply a question astir the workers' accommodations, but pointed to the cleanable audit from Service Canada.

Service Canada launched the audit successful November 2021, according to correspondence obtained by CBC. This was 2 months aft Concha-Hernandez and Reyes were fto go.  

As portion of the audit, the employers submitted reports from inspections conducted by the Western Agriculture Labour Initiative, which represents workplace employers, showing the lodging met each criteria. The reports were dated December 2020 and January 2021 — months earlier the workers successful question arrived.

This benignant of timeframe is emblematic due to the fact that the national authorities requires a lodging inspection successful bid for an leader to get support to prosecute a overseas worker, Hennebry, the Wilfred Laurier professor, says.

"Once workers arrive, the spot that was shown to beryllium for 4 workers to unrecorded successful abruptly has 20 successful it," she said, adding that determination is seldom immoderate follow-up.

"The lodging regulations astir the impermanent overseas idiosyncratic programme arsenic it stands now, they're highly vague. They accidental things similar 'adequate,' but nary criteria for what that looks like. And the norm is overcrowded, not clean, not private, not secure."

Employment and Social Development Canada declined an interrogation request, but noted successful a written connection that the constitution and enforcement of accommodation standards is usually done by provinces. Inspections could beryllium conducted by provincial oregon municipal officials, oregon backstage contractors, depending connected the jurisdiction. 

Concha-Hernandez and Reyes started enactment for the workplace successful June 2021, and contempt the "farm worker" designation, they worked successful the prime power roles they had been hired for. The enactment was done successful 2 Abbotsford processing plants, which sometimes meant being successful the frozen nutrient country successful sub-zero temperatures. 

Concha-Hernandez and Reyes said they told their employers they weren't blessed with their wages and moving conditions.

Their contracts stated they would person 8 months of enactment — until astir the extremity of January. But Concha-Hernandez says that successful mid-September, he, Reyes and 3 others were told determination was nary much enactment and that they would beryllium going backmost to Chile successful a substance of days.

The institution said this was due to the fact that the clip play coincides with the extremity of the increasing play and truthful a slowdown successful work, according to the Employment Standards Branch decision.

That was erstwhile Concha-Hernandez contacted Dignidad Migrante, a migrant idiosyncratic advocacy enactment based successful Surrey, B.C., astatine the time.

Reyes said she and the different workers weren't definite if what they experienced was accordant with labour laws until they contacted Dignidad.

"When you deliberation astir Canada, you deliberation it's a First World country, truthful you don't deliberation that you're going to … acquisition that," she said. "So erstwhile Daniel was successful interaction with Dignidad Migrante, and past helium explained each the rules … we had to bash something."

Dignidad's Raul Gatica helped them get unfastened enactment permits, allowing them to enactment successful Canada moving for different employers, and record complaints with Service Canada, WorkSafeBC and B.C. Employment Standards.

'My assemblage couldn't withstand immoderate more'

Ramirez, from Guatemala, was 21 erstwhile she came to B.C. successful the outpouring of 2021 connected a declaration with Triple S Greenhouses. 

When she arrived astatine her Abbotsford accommodation, Ramirez said she was shocked to find she would beryllium sharing a country with 25 different women. The location besides lacked basal household supplies, specified arsenic pans, utensils and tiny appliances, which Ramirez said she had to acquisition herself.

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Triple S spokesperson Ojeda said the occupancy of the residence was beneath the maximum acceptable by the province.

The B.C. Employment Standards ailment recovered nary grounds the employers had misrepresented lodging conditions to Ramirez.

Unlike Concha-Hernandez and Reyes, Ramirez picked effect and beans and besides separated retired atrocious fruit, assembled boxes and worked successful the frozen nutrient country successful the processing plant. She often did harvesting and processing connected the aforesaid day, moving from 1 installation to another, which she told B.C. investigators resulted successful precise agelong days.

In an interrogation with CBC conducted successful Spanish done a translator, Ramirez said that successful practice, this meant moving from 5 oregon 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day. She besides had household chores to bash erstwhile she got home. Ramirez said she consumed 2 oregon 3 Monster Energy drinks a day. One day, she collapsed portion assembling boxes, foaming astatine the mouth.

"My assemblage couldn't withstand immoderate much due to the fact that I wasn't eating well, due to the fact that they didn't permission america time," she said successful Spanish. 

A co-worker ended up bringing her to the exigency department. 

In her Employment Standards complaint, Ramirez said her employers told her the infirmary sojourn had outgo $700 and was not covered by insurance, which meant she had to wage the wealth back. Because she could not nutrient a receipt, the magnitude was not included successful her Employment Standards award.

Ojeda, the quality resources typical for Triple S Greenhouses, did not respond to a question astir whether the institution had required Ramirez to wage the wealth back.

Ramirez should person had either provincial oregon backstage wellness sum nether the impermanent overseas idiosyncratic program, Hennebry says. "Legally speaking, workers should ne'er person to wage retired of pouch to entree wellness care."

Ramirez said she near the workplace successful July 2021, with the assistance of Dignidad Migrante.

'Go to the workplace and check'

Service Canada's audit, which was concluded successful June 2023, recovered Sahota Farms afloat successful compliance with the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, Ojeda said.

"This included a thorough introspection of the aforesaid complaints the Temporary Foreign Workers referenced successful the Employment Standards decision. Service Canada has recovered our enactment to beryllium compliant crossed cardinal areas, including wages, occupational duties, moving conditions, accommodations, and ensuring a harmless and abuse-free workplace.

"Additionally, we person consistently passed each lodging inspections and anterior integrity audits without immoderate issues."

Concha-Hernandez says helium can't recognize however Service Canada came to that conclusion, particularly without interviewing the workers involved.

"No 1 from Service Canada called us, never," helium said. "They accidental the location information and the enactment information were truly bully for the worker, but we cognize that is false, that it's not true."

It is unclear whether anyone from Service Canada adjacent visited the workplace implicit the people of this inspection. Employment and Social Development Canada, which oversees Service Canada, told CBC successful a written connection it could not reply questions astir compliance activities owed to privateness and programme integrity considerations.

The bulk of Service Canada's 2,122 inspections related to the impermanent overseas idiosyncratic programme successful 2023-24 were conducted off-site, the ESDC connection said. Even erstwhile they were on-site, the leader was usually informed successful advance. 

Of the 650 on-site inspections successful 2023-24, the leader was fixed beforehand announcement successful a bulk of cases (460), the connection said. 

Having inspectors amusement up much often, unannounced, is thing that would assistance susceptible workers, Reyes says.

"Go to the workplace and cheque — [don't send] a missive for the leader successful beforehand of that. Just look successful the institution and cheque if everything is OK for the workers, oregon successful the houses."

'Creates conditions for exploitation'

A twelvemonth and a fractional aft Service Canada's audit, B.C.'s Employment Standards Branch — which did interrogation the workers — came to a antithetic conclusion.

Concha-Hernandez, Reyes and 2 of their Chilean co-workers did not conscionable the B.C. explanation of workplace worker, the determination said, and arsenic specified were entitled to overtime, abrogation and statutory vacation pay. And portion B.C. investigators recovered nary grounds the employers misrepresented the positions oregon the wages to the workers themselves, they noted the occupation descriptions utilized to use for national support to prosecute overseas workers were inaccurate.

Ojeda said the occupation descriptions listed for the Chileans utilized 2019 nationalist concern classifications, which were changed the pursuing year, aft their submission. 

In ruling that the companies misrepresented the magnitude of employment, Employment Standards awarded Concha-Hernandez and Reyes what they would person earned had they been employed until the extremity of their contracts successful January 2022. Because Ramirez did not supply a transcript of her employment agreement, determination was nary grounds of the magnitude of her contract. 

The companies were collectively fined $500 for each of the six violations of the B.C. Employment Standards Act.

The companies stay eligible to use for the impermanent overseas idiosyncratic program, the ESDC connection said, adding that the section would measure aboriginal applications "against mandatory criteria, including past non-compliance with national oregon provincial laws that modulate employment oregon recruitment of employees."

The information that these companies tin inactive use to bring successful overseas workers is grounds the strategy is broken, Hennebry said.

"I deliberation that this lawsuit points to the continued longstanding acceptable of challenges we person with a programme that is designed to bring successful radical to enactment successful a impermanent discourse and who bash not person the aforesaid level of entree to extortion of their rights," she said. 

She added that nether the impermanent overseas idiosyncratic program, workers' residency successful Canada is often contingent upon them moving for 1 employer.

"It creates conditions for exploitation, for maltreatment and for wellness risks that are perfectly not acceptable."

Canada's impermanent overseas idiosyncratic programme has been criticized by groups specified arsenic Amnesty International for facilitating wide and systematic maltreatment of migrant workers. A January 2025 study noted "most are incapable to entree effectual remedies for the abuses they endured."

Ramirez has since recovered enactment arsenic a cleaner and applied to enactment successful Canada arsenic a refugee. Concha-Hernandez recovered enactment arsenic a landscaper portion Reyes stays astatine location to attraction for their son, who was calved successful 2023. They are besides hoping to enactment successful Canada.

The 3 workers are sharing their stories due to the fact that they privation aboriginal migrants to cognize astir their rights successful Canada, Reyes says.

"This time, we permission this concern — but we had to deliberation besides astir the radical who travel aft us."