Labour ministry insists Canadian farm inspections not being compromised

Permanent Secretary in the Labour Ministry, Colette Roberts Risden, is insisting the inspection of farms involved in the Seasonal Work Programme is not being compromised by the low number of liaison officers on staff in Canada.

At present, 13 liaison officers are responsible for visiting the 655 farms to which Jamaican workers are posted in Canada. Each farm is to be visited at least twice during the season, in addition to visits by officers in relation to complaints.

"I'll never say that it is more than enough, but we have found that the officers have been able to meet their targets," Roberts Risden told Radio Jamaica's call-in programme, Hotline, on Friday morning.

Jamaica's chief liaison service officer in Canada, Kenneth Phillips, says the Labour Ministry is in the process of recruiting four more liaison officers.

In the meantime, Roberts Risden is dismissing suggestions the ministry and its liaison officers are more receptive towards employers than Jamaican workers.

Several farmworkers have claimed that their complaints have not been given much attention by liaison officers who often side with employers.

However, Roberts Risden said "we're not here to serve the interest of employers. We are here to serve the interest of the workers and the programme overall."

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