Gov't says more Jamaicans could be employed in Canada and US..ah sah

**Tropicana** · 08-14-2013, 09:03 PM

Interesting. There was an Canadian article about the Canadian programme complaining about the flaws in it. I mean to post it...not sure if I can find it. I shared the article about the human rights case though.

Found this though:

U.S. looking at Canada guest-worker program as model

NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, Ontario — Guillermo Hernandez Alcantar was chilly.He’d arrived in Canada from Mexico three days before. The journey brought him hundreds of miles north on the guarantee of work and stability — to pick the grapes that locals will not. He came as a legal guest worker.
“Right now, the Mexican workers have not finished arriving,” Hernandez Alcantar said on a brisk morning in March. “By May, they will all be here.”
He needed to buy a jacket, so he mounted a well-worn Huffy 10-speed bicycle, one of many leaning up against the two worker dormitories, and rode off, passing through the vineyards that stretch the length of Line 1 Road. Though he spoke little English, he knew he could get by in town without the language skills.
The others made that clear to him before he arrived in Canada.
Hernandez Alcantar could also provide a window into the future of migrant workers in the United States.
A revamped guest-worker program is a key element in current U.S. immigration-reform proposals.
The Senate has passed a provision that allows up to 337,000 foreign workers to receive three-year work visas to do farm labor in the U.S. at a rate of pay of $9.64 to $11.87 per hour. A House version, still being debated, allows up to 500,000 workers a year for up to 18 months for seasonal work and three years for non-seasonal work, with pay at either state minimum or prevailing wage.
The Senate also has passed a provision that would provide an accelerated path to citizenship for undocumented agricultural workers. The House bill does not provide a path to citizenship.
But as Congress continues to search for common ground that satisfies myriad U.S. interests, Canada’s long-established Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program has been offered as a model of best practices that has served that country well for decades.
SAWP, established in 1966 as a bilateral agreement between Canada and Jamaica and later expanded to include Mexico and other countries, extends eight-month contracts to individuals willing to work low-skilled agricultural jobs, with guarantees of housing, health care, wage standards and partial reimbursement for travel.
The Canadian program has been looked at by those crafting new legislation in the United States, according to Kristi Boswell, director of congressional relations for the American Farm Bureau Federation. She said it is a good model, except that Canada — employing an agricultural workforce of 280,000 in 2011 — has much smaller labor needs than the United States.
The one key factor that separates Canadian employers from their southern neighbors also physically ensures that they adhere to the authorized, state-regulated guest-worker program: geography.
“The undocumented pool in Canada is very small because, well, you just can’t get here easily,” said Ken Forth, a third-generation farmer and president of Foreign Agricultural Resources Management Service, an organization that coordinates seasonal agricultural workers in Ontario, Canada.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/free/20130812us-looking-canada-guest-worker-program-model-abrk.html

**Wahalla** · 08-15-2013, 05:06 AM

I read this tread and I was going to lick out at a government that encourages the export of persons, it did not sit right....What the developed world market needs is not dum labour but skilled or semi skilled.....Having said that I wasnt qualified to get a likkle farm work back decades ago or I was the wrong skin color or the wrong political party....

then I read this article in the gleaner..and it supports my opnion

The workers that Kanada wants are the trained, skilled and semiskilled

Port Skills Exodus - Industries Buckle As Technicians, Truckers Flee To Canada

Published: Thursday | August 15, 20130 Comments

An employee of the Kingston Wharves runs towards trailers blocking a section of Second Street at Port Bustamante. Leonard Green, president of the All-Island Truckers' Association, believes the main reason truckers in particular have turned their attention to Canada is because of better remuneration and conditions of employment. - FILE

Nedburn Thaffe, Gleaner Writer
As Jamaica continues to haemorrhage manpower to the skilled-worker programme in Canada, there are lingering concerns that a number of local sectors could crumble unless something is done fast to staunch the flow.
Hard hit over the years by the recruitment drive, the Port Authority of Jamaica is one such entity that has had to ramp up measures to keep its maintenance technicians, in particular, on the job.
But even so, it continues to be a constant battle between themselves and aggressive Canadian recruiters.
"We are just keeping our head above the waters," Captain Mike Belcher, managing director at the Kingston Container Terminal (KCT), told The Gleaner yesterday.
President of the All-Island Truckers' Association, Leonard Green, is also sounding the warning that there is trouble on the horizon for Jamaica because of a shortage of truckers who have left the country for greener pastures under the programme.
"From what I hear, the demand far outstretches the supply and they are actually creaming off our better drivers. In the event that we should have any major activity coming up we could see the effects of it," Green said.
"For example, if the construction of the north-south link of Highway (2000) and the expansion of the Kingston Wharves happen simultaneously, then definitely we will have a shortage," Green warned.
Since 2009, some 127 skilled workers have quit their jobs at the KCT, which is a subsidiary of the Port Authority of Jamaica. The majority of those who left took up jobs in Canada.
According to Belcher, 87 per cent of them were recruited directly by Canadians, 10 per cent migrated of their own volition and the remainder were employed to local companies.
"If Jamaica runs out of technicians, we are in deep trouble. The thing is, with our training programme and new equipment that we are getting, we will be able to keep our customers, but what it really amounts to is that we are becoming a technological university here for the Canadian market," Belcher said.
"We have lost technicians who were trained in the maintenance exercises of the mobile equipment such as the big straddle carriers, the trucks and big container lifters. But it's not just our technicians they are targeting; they are targeting our crane operators and our heavy-equipment operators as well."
Belcher said between 2011 and 2012, the KCT saw a huge decline in business because of the poorly maintained machinery at the terminal. The company, he said, had to employ drastic measures to prevent further fallout.
"We had to employ locally trained contractors who were trained on equipment other than the equipment we had."
Under an aggressive recruitment and training drive, "productivity on the (shipping) vessels has gone up quite substantially in the last 12 months. It has gone from 24 container moves per crane hour to 32, which has had the effect of encouraging the return of business".
He added: "However, unless we keep up the pressure this side, it (Canada skilled-work programme) is going to put us under pressure again."
He said one of the measures the KCT has put in place to keep its workers is a bonding programme where employees sign a contract stating that they will work at least three years before seeking opportunities elsewhere.
But even so, he is still sceptical as to how effective this will be.
"Information coming back to us is that the recruiting people are prepared to pay off the bond for them, so I am not sure how effective that will be," he said.
"You cannot deny people the opportunity for a better life. Bonding programmes are not always ideal; there is a philosophy against bonding, but he we have done it."
He added that before the end of summer, the KCT could be losing more workers, but he was unable to say how many.
"Another batch might go, but we are never quite sure how many. The only indication we have is the letters from the embassies asking for particulars. Not sure how many letters there are now, but the highest we had at any particular one time is 13 enquiry letters," Belcher said.
The president of the truckers' association believes that the main reason why his members have turned their attention to Canada is because of better remuneration and conditions of employment.
"Conditions of employment in Jamaica are very insecure. In some areas of trucking, it is more seasonal. Sometimes, guys who do like aggregates, when the season is off or there are stoppages in work, they are not necessarily compensated based on the arrangements."
He said the indiscipline of some truckers when they go to Canada seemed to be the only thing slowing down the pace of recruitment.
"They are actually profiling the candidates more than they did initially. Some of them have broken the agreements of their contract, so they are relooking at pulling some of the skill sets from Jamaica," Green said.
Efforts to get a comment from Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce Anthony Hylton proved futile yesterday.

**Tropicana** · 08-16-2013, 03:21 PM

If the Jamaican Government knew what people had to put up with once they were here on these programmes, perhaps they would be in such a hurry to ship people off.

I shared this before but I can't find it.

Migrant worker wins human rights case after he and co-workers called 'monkeys'

A St. Lucian migrant worker who was called "a monkey" while working at a farm in Ontario and fired after he complained about it has been awarded $23,500 by the province's human rights tribunal.Adrian Monrose, 38, came to Canada to help support his mother, two children, 16 siblings and numerous nieces and nephews. He arrived in Leamington, Ont., in 2009 for a second stint at Double Diamond Acres Ltd. under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program.
Monrose and some of his fellow workers on the farm were called "monkeys" both by an owner and a supervisor, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario found.
The largest portion of Monrose's compensation -- $15,000 -- was ordered because he "paid a significant price" for standing up for his rights, something migrant workers are hesitant to do because of their vulnerable positions, the tribunal found.
"The respondents' response to (Monrose's) complaint was not to investigate his concerns, but to terminate his employment," vice-chair David Muir wrote in the decision made last week.
"In my view, considering the deliberate nature of the act and the immediate and objective consequences for (Monrose), the humiliation of being removed from the workplace and returned to St. Lucia all justify the award I have made."
Monrose, who is now married to a Canadian and working in a plastic recycling factory in Windsor, Ont., said many other migrant workers wanted to help him with his case but were too scared to get involved.
"They don't want to talk about it. They just keep to themselves," he said in an interview. "They just do not have a voice."
But he hopes this case will help others come forward about any discrimination.
"I think that the decision is going to inspire others to stand up for themselves as well," he said.
Double Diamond owner Benji Mastronardi saw a lot of tomatoes on the ground of the greenhouse on May 20, 2009, and shouted, "You're like monkeys on a branch," the tribunal heard.
The next day, Monrose complained about a chair collapsing underneath him and supervisor Jeffrey Carreiro approached him aggressively, the tribunal heard. At that point Monrose pushed Carreiro away and the supervisor said, "That's why Benji calls you guys monkeys," the tribunal found.
Monrose was awarded thousands for lost wages as well as $3,000 as compensation for his loss of dignity, feelings and self-respect.
"There are some kinds of name calling that are so egregious that one incident may be sufficient to establish a violation of the code," Muir wrote.
"I find that the use of the term monkey to describe a black man in the demeaning manner the term was used in this case is clearly discriminatory."
Monrose complained to Mastronardi about the monkey comments and not getting an extra Saturday shift and was fired a little more than a week later.
There is "no other explanation" for why Monrose was fired and sent back to St. Lucia so hastily that he left some personal belongings behind, the tribunal found.
The company argued that Monrose was fired because of a propensity for violence and for making a threat. The tribunal found that to be "baseless."
Muir found "significant credibility issues," conflicts and "material contradictions" in the company's evidence.
Monrose's lawyer, Shane Martinez, said the case sets an important precedent. There are many cases similar to Monrose's that go unreported because of the problems seasonal workers have accessing human rights tribunals in Canada.
"There are so many stories of migrant workers out there who come to Canada, participate in the program, have a negative experience with their employer and then as soon as they try to raise the concern they're sent back home," Martinez said.
"The workers who participate in the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program are perhaps the most vulnerable because of how unbalanced the contract is and because of the great powers that it gives the employer to do whatever it wants in response to workers who try to stand up for themselves."
The tribunal also ordered that Double Diamond implement a "comprehensive human rights and anti-discrimination policy with the assistance of an expert in human rights law" as well as training conducted by an expert in human rights.
Double Diamond did not return a request for comment.

Read more: http://www.cp24.com/news/migrant-worker-wins-human-rights-case-after-he-and-co-workers-called-monkeys-1.1388242

**Wahalla** · 08-20-2013, 05:43 AM

two days ago it was reported that Thwaites told the unemployed teachers to hold on to volunteer.. now this...

China looking for Jamaican teachers

2013-08-19 08:54:25 | (0 Comments)

Ronald Thwaites - File
China is looking to Jamaica to employ teachers of English Language.

Education Minister Ronald Thwaites says a private company has contacted the Ministry to explore the prospects to getting trained teachers to China.

Thwaites says the ministry is now trying to work out the details of the arrangement.

According to him, annually China seeks about 100,000 teachers to teach English.

The proposed deal comes at a time when the government has halted the hiring of new teachers in the system because of economic challenges.

Noting that Jamaican teachers have excelled around the world, the education minister says the proposed deal with China is another great opportunity.

The Ministry of Education has started to develop a database of trained unemployed teachers.

The database was initiated at a two-day job fair hosted by the ministry last week.

According to the ministry, approximately 1,000 interviews were facilitated at the event.

**Wahalla** · 08-28-2013, 05:58 AM

Below the Port authority are bleeding skills personnel..yet we have goverment officals talking in high faluting terms about the HUb.. yet we cant retain personnel to do the little we have... This does not make much sense from a Brazialian perspective...

Logistics hub vital to strengthening economic ties with Brazil, says Hylton

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

INDUSTRY, Investment and Commerce Minister Anthony Hylton says Government's proposed logistics hub will be vital in the strengthening of Jamaica's economic ties with Brazil.
"Without the logistics hub, we will continue to struggle with a small market (Jamaica), looking at a huge market (Brazil), and not being able to compete effectively," said the minister.

Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce Anthony Hylton (right) and State Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Arnaldo Brown (left), in discussion with (from 2nd left) President of the Jamaica-Brazil Chamber of Commerce Donovan McFarlane, and General Manager of the Jamaica National Building Society Earl Jarrett, at a special luncheon hosted by Jamaica National Small Business Loans Limited at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel on Monday.

1/1

"With the logistics hub, we are talking about a deeper integration of Jamaica into the global economy, and with that, the movement of passengers globally, and the movement of goods globally... we'll have the links between Brazil and Jamaica enhanced by movement of goods, passengers, and data," the minister added.
Hylton was speaking at a special luncheon hosted by Jamaica National Small Business Loans Limited at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel on Monday, where he explained the opportunities for trade and investment with Brazil.
The minister announced that he would be making an official visit to Brazil to continue discussions on potential partnerships for the logistics hub, stressing that it was critical that these linkages be made, and that Jamaica intends to play its part.
Hylton, in the meantime, cited the critical role that the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector must play in the success of the logistics hub. He urged the gathering of stakeholders to "pay very keen attention" to the MSME policy, and the follow-up actions that will emerge.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Arnaldo Brown, who also addressed the luncheon, said the event reflected some of the important steps that Jamaica has taken in South-South co-operation, and the country's relationship with Brazil. "It was not by accident that Jamaica established a full mission in Brazil," he said.
Brown noted that although the Jamaica-Brazil Chamber of Commerce was established in 2008, it did not receive ratification until a mission was established in the South American country, and the first order of business was to give Government support to the chamber.
"There is much trade that can be derived between the two partners; we have worked very closely on agriculture where there is significant co-operation and best practice that can be derived," he said.
South-South Co-operation involves the exchange of resources, knowledge, and technology between developing countries, also termed countries of the global South.
Brown pointed out that both Brazil and Jamaica were exploring the matter of enhancing travel within the region.
— JIS

Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...#ixzz2dFwhdohf

Gov't says more Jamaicans could be employed in Canada and US..ah sah

Gov't says more Jamaicans could be employed in Canada and US..ah sah

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