The province is offsetting the cost of special measures farmers took this summer to keep domestic workers safe from the risk of COVID-19. Between 1,500 and 2,000 domestic seasonal workers help with fruit harvest throughout the Okanagan and Creston areas each year. Without domestic workers, BC Fruit Growers Association labour manager Ron Forrest says “there …
labour
Rules for young workers
New rules governing teen workers are set to take effect October 15, two years after the province asked farmers to provide input on the regulations. The new regulations give effect to Bill 8, passed in May 2019, which raised the minimum employment age from 12 to 16 years in a bid to protect young workers. …
Fruit growers seek workers
The prospect of a record cherry crop has Okanagan growers scrambling for workers as a heat wave accelerates ripening. While arrivals of seasonal foreign workers are above last year, BC Fruit Growers Association president Pinder Dhaliwal expects just half the number of domestic backpackers to arrive. These usually account for 4,000 workers in addition to …
BCAC shifts to advocacy
Policy development is in, program delivery is out as the BC Agriculture Council prepares to welcome a new executive director in August. Reg Ens announced June 9 that he would be stepping down as executive director July 31, allowing him to step into the newly created position of general manager of the Western Agriculture Labour …
BC minimum wage increases
BC made good on plans to achieve a $15 minimum wage this week, with the hourly minimum rising 60 cents to $15.20 an hour June 1. The increase was the final step in an aggressive plan the province announced in 2018, following a report of the BC Fair Wages Commission. The report recommended moving towards …
Flight ban strands workers
The Canadian government’s 30-day ban on passenger flights from India and Pakistan to stop the spread of the COVID-19 B.1.617 variant, could have a big impact on Fraser Valley farmers. “A number of our workers are in India and they don’t anticipate coming back anytime soon,” says Satwinder Bains, owner of Westberry Farms, a blueberry …