Injured Workers

21 Migrant Injured Farm Workers call the WSIB President to demand accountability and change on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

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On March 21st, Injured Workers Action for Justice (IWA4J) and Justice for Migrant Workers (J4MW) organized an action to support injured workers in their demand for immediate change to the racist and discriminatory treatment they receive by the WSIB.

Check out the full press release and photos from our action below!

 

March 21th, 2023

CALLING FOR ACTION: 21 Migrant Injured Farm Workers call the WSIB President to demand accountability and change on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

On March 21, 2023, Injured Workers Action for Justice (IWA4J) and Justice for Migrant Workers (J4MW) will be organizing an action to support injured workers in their demand for immediate change to the racist and discriminatory treatment they receive by the WSIB.

In recognition of International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this March 21st, 21 migrant injured workers will be calling the WSIB President to tell their stories of how the WSIB process is racist and worsens the physical, mental and emotional state of workers who have suffered a workplace injury.

Last year these same workers wrote an open letter to demand change to Ontario’s discriminatory workers’ compensation system and the systemic racism they face at the WSIB. Since that letter there has been zero change and zero accountability from the WSIB. This year workers will be calling in to the WSIB because many migrant injured workers are no longer here in Canada. Following a workplace injury, many migrant injured workers are repatriated and forced to recover from their injuries back in their home country. Canada’s racist immigration laws and the WSIB’s discriminatory practices make injured workers feel powerless by isolating them and breaking up injured worker communities. Workers understand this and instead are building power through transnational solidarity and actions. Injured workers’ support and solidarity knows no borders.

On the call to the WSIB president, workers will speak on two main issues: their horrific experiences of improper health care support and the racist reality of the practice of “deeming” workers.

The WSIB Must Provide Real Healthcare for Injured Workers

Because of exploitation and unsafe labour practices, migrant workers are at heightened risk of becoming injured on the job.

Once injured, many injured workers, and especially migrant injured workers, face difficulties with improper health care support as they recover from their workplace injury. The WSIB does not provide proper funding of medical treatments and medications that are necessary for workers to recover properly. The WSIB also does not listen to the recommendations that healthcare providers provide to injured workers. Instead, they often override a worker’s doctor’s recommendation with their own doctor’s opinion. This opinion does not benefit the worker because the WSIB’s doctors have not established a strong clinical relationship with the worker. In fact, the WSIB doctors’ opinions are often given without them even meeting the injured worker.

For migrant injured workers, many of whom are racialized, these issues are magnified. Following injury, migrant workers are often forced back to their home country by their employer. The WSIB does not provide them with supports that would allow them to stay in Canada to receive proper healthcare. Instead migrant injured workers are forced to find treatment on their own in their home country. Often these countries do not have accessible healthcare for workers to help them recover from the complex injuries they suffered working here in Canada.

The reality is that once a migrant worker is injured, Canada and the WSIB often force them deeper into poverty and downloads all healthcare and worker compensation onto the backs of people in the Global South.

The WSIB Must Abolish the Shameful and Racist Practice of “Deeming”

The practice of deeming allows the WSIB to cut injured workers’ benefits by pretending (or “deeming”) that they are working and making money in a suitable job in Ontario. This practice of cutting benefits using fake wages by the WSIB makes injured workers feel disposable and drives many injured workers into poverty. This unfair and make-believe practice is even worse for migrant workers.  For migrant injured workers these Ontario jobs are not actually available to them because they have been repatriated and forced back home.

For interviews and additional information, please contact:

  • Sang-Hun Mun (Injured Workers Action 4 Justice):
    • Tel: 647-832-1514 /E-mail: iwaction4j@gmail.com
  • Chris Ramsaroop (Justicia 4 Migrant Workers):
    • Tel: 647-834-4932 / E-mail: j4mw.on@gmail.com 

 

 

 

Join us for a community delegation on the National Day of Mourning

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This Thursday, April 28, 2022, is the National Day of Mourning for workers who have gotten killed, sick or injured at work.

We mourn the dead and fight for the living.

If you are in Toronto, please join us at 1:00pm on 28 April at 400 University Ave (the Ministry of Labour). Alongside IAVGO and the Injured Workers Action for Justice, we’ll deliver an open letter from injured workers and survivors of workplace deaths to Labour Minister Monte McNaughton, demanding justice and calling on him to ensure protection for all workers.

For more information, please email j4mw.on@gmail.com. Check out the Facebook event here.

Here is our open letter with IAVGO and IWA4J.

Please also read this letter from Juan (pseudonym), a migrant farmworker with stage 4 cancer who was exposed to pesticides on the job.

Call to support an injured farm worker this Thanksgiving

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Tashoy is a migrant worker in Ontario who was injured on the job a few years ago. His hand was crushed in a piece of machinery used to pack cucumbers.

Justice for Migrant Workers is asking people with the means to donate to Tashoy to support his and his family’s living expenses. Donating in solidarity with migrant workers is a concrete way to express gratitude for migrant members of our community who grow food and other crops. Supporting struggles for Indigenous sovereignty and land repatriation is also an important way to mark this date.

You can donate to Tashoy at the link below until 18 October. Please write “Tashoy” in the note: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=T75F2A8TFNV4E

 

Background

Migrant workers hired through the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program pay taxes that support the social safety net — just like Canadian citizens and permanent residents. However, if they become ill or injured on the job, it can be very difficult for migrant agricultural workers to access the same benefits as Canadians because they are deportable and have visas that are ‘tied’ to one employer.

It’s been a few years since Tashoy’s injury and he is still fighting – the system is designed to prevent migrant workers from getting justice.

Harvest season brings a bounty of fresh produce and other agricultural crops to people in Canada, along with countries that import Canadian goods. Simultaneously, Canadian agriculture is rife with unsafe working conditions for  farm workers who pick those vegetables, with unique risks for migrant workers. This is the time of year when we see countless workers like Tashoy get injured on the job; in some instances they are repatriated by their employers with no grievance mechanism.

If you can, please donate in solidarity with Tashoy here by 18 October!

Take action in solidarity with Ralston Maise!

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IMG_0023

Photo: Rebecca Gerster. Solidarity delegation with Ralston Maise on 23 November, 2018.

On December 10th, please take a minute to tell Tom Teahen that Ralston Maise deserves fairness from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB).

Ralston injured his knee in June 2017 while picking berries. Even though the WSIB is supposed to protect injured workers, under Teahen’s leadership, they:

  • Refused to recognize Ralston’s accident
  • Conducted interviews with Ralston’s co-workers while the employer was in the room (i.e. a chilling effect)

When migrant workers become sick or injured on the job, they know they could be sent home before accessing the full medical care to which they’re entitled. Consequently, they often downplay workplace injuries. Similarly, co-workers who are called upon as witnesses often fear speaking out against their bosses.

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Ralston Maise with allies at WSIB. Photo: Rebecca Gerster.

If the WSIB had accounted for these realities, Ralston’s life would be much better: he could have recovered and made a decent life for himself and his family. Instead, Ralston is now dependent on the generosity of others for housing, has trouble putting food on the table, and cannot get medical care for his injury.

On November 23rd, 2018, Ralston led a delegation with dozens of concerned community members to demand fairness and compensation for his injuries. WSIB refused our request to send a decision maker to address our concerns. Instead, our delegation was met with a public relations representative.

To date, no steps have been taken to address concerns raised by Ralston and the community.

On December 10th, please take a minute to tell Tom Teahen c/o Steve Jackson that Ralston Maise deserves fairness from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB). 

Call him at (416) 344-4320 and/or email him at steve_jackson@wsib.on.ca.

If you don’t receive this call-to-action until a few days later, it’s still fine to call or phone. 🙂

Sample Call

To: (416) 344-4320

Hello Mr. Jackson. I have a message for Mr. Teahen.  
My name is ____ .  I’m calling from ____(city or organization) to 
express my deep concern about how the WSIB is treating Ralston Maise,
a migrant worker who was injured at work last year. The WSIB denied 
his claim and ignored the fact that migrant workers often downplay 
injuries for fear of repatriation.  I urge the WSIB to immediately 
provide fair compensation to Ralston and change the system so that it
better protects injured migrant workers. Thank you.

 

Sample Email – please CC  j4mw.on@gmail.com

To: steve_jackson@wsib.on.ca

Dear Mr. Teahen,

I would like to express my deep concern about how the WSIB is treating
Ralston Maise.

The WSIB refused to recognize Ralston’s accident and ignored the fact
that migrant workers often downplay their injuries for fear of 
repatriation and permanent removal from the Seasonal Agricultural 
Worker Program. It then interviewed Ralston’s co-workers while the 
employer was in the room with no regard for the consequences they face
if they speak out against their employer.


The WSIB is well aware of these issues but has not taken sufficient 
steps to address them. By failing to do so, the WSIB is denying 
migrant workers equitable access to the workers’ compensation system. 

I urge you to immediately:
1. Provide fair compensation for Ralston Maise;
2. Train WSIB's eligibility adjudicators to take into consideration 
the unique vulnerabilities faced by migrant workers in their decision 
making;
3. Strengthen protections for witnesses so that they are not put at 
risk for telling the truth; and
4. Work with migrant workers and their advocates to take immediate 
and concrete steps to address the WSIB’s institutionalized racism.

I look forward to seeing these changes in effect and to receiving 
your response.

Sincerely,
(Name)

Honouring comrades on Workers’ Memorial Day

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April 28 marks the Day of Mourning, and workers across the world are taking the time to honour our comrades killed at work.

Migrant workers and their allies join today to demand an end to dangerous, demeaning and dehumanizing work, and an end to unsafe practices that result in injury and death. Justicia for Migrant Workers wants to highlight the particular vulnerabilities faced by migrants employed under temporary foreign worker programs in Canada.

Being tied to an employer and under constant threat of repatriation means that migrant workers are at particular risk of being employed under unsafe conditions. If migrant workers are injured on the job in Canada, they are often treated as disposable, denied access to the health care and workplace compensation to which they’re entitled, and sent home. Despite our consistent calls for changes to our labour laws, there has never been a Coroner’s inquest to investigate the death of a migrant farm worker who died on the job in Canada.

Ontario, for example, has continued to exempt farm workers from protections available to most other workers in the province. Current regulations place workers at the risk of exposure to pesticides and other agro-chemicals, confined spaces, heat stress, and working at dangerous heights.

While we mourn the deaths of our friends, comrades and loved ones, today is a call to action to recognize one workplace death as one death too many. Let’s organize together to build power, to build strength, and to build our resistance against dangerous and deadly working conditions. We owe it to those who have passed, to their loved ones, and to future generations to ensure farm workplaces uphold the highest standards of safety and dignity for all.

Show solidarity with Leon! Seeking donations for an injured migrant worker

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Migrant worker Leon Ferguson at a rally in Ottawa as part of J4MW's Harvesting Freedom caravan.

Migrant worker Leon Ferguson at a rally in Ottawa in 2016 as part of J4MW’s Harvesting Freedom caravan.

We are writing with an urgent financial appeal to cover the costs of a MRI for an injured migrant farm worker from Jamaica. We are seeking to raise $1500. All monies donated will be used to cover the costs of the MRI and travel to medical appointments.

Continue reading →

Financial Solidarity Needed for Injured Migrant Worker

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Dear Friends,
We are writing to ask for your solidarity and support for an injured migrant worker who desperately needs some assistance to stay in his home.

In 2014, this gentleman seriously injured his back and leg while working on a farm in Ontario. His employer repatriated him to Jamaica with no notice, waking him up at 1 am and giving him 10 minutes to pack his things before sending him on a flight back home. The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) then cut off his compensation, as they do regularly to migrant workers, forcing him to fend for himself.

He has lost so much since his workplace injury. His financial situation prevents him from getting the health care treatment he needs, and he struggles to put food on the table. Now, his landlord is trying to evict him and he needs some financial support in order to fend off the eviction.

The hope is that the WSIB will step up and provide some support, but this will take time. For right now, he needs some help to stay in his home and get him through this tough period.

Justicia for Migrant Workers is making this urgent appeal:

  1. If you can, please DONATE ONLINE at https://harvestingfreedom.org/donations/
  2. Click “special instructions to seller“
  3. Write in “support for JT”.

We will be checking the instructions until February 15, 2018. If you would like to make a donation for this worker after this, please email us at j4mw.on@gmail.com so we can watch for it.

In solidarity,

Justicia for Migrant Workers

Justice for Migrant Workers

UPDATE and call-to-action with Kevon Smith:

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SMITH-1

Thanks to the 45 people who donated in solidarity with injured migrant worker Kevon Smith over the past three days, the Workplace Safety & Insurance Board (WSIB) felt intense pressure to re-examine Kevon’s case. They have now allowed full compensation while he waits for his surgery. Kevon is grateful for everyone’s show of solidarity and generosity. The fundraiser is now closed.

But helping injured workers should never be a matter of charity.

Kevon should never have been obligated to make a desperate and public appeal for funds. The WSIB should have done the right thing before this public pressure. Beyond Kevon’s case, the WSIB continues to deny hundreds of injured workers the support they critically need and deserve.

Please email the office of the President of WSIB. Tell him:

  •  Workers are not disposable;
  • The WSIB should ensure they give injured migrant workers like Kevon the choice and the financial means to stay in Ontario for health care for their workplace injuries.

Please send emails to Tom Teahen, President and CEO, via Steve Jackson: Steve_jackson@wsib.on.ca. Please feel free to CC us: j4mw.on@gmail.com.

URGENT call for solidarity with injured apple worker Kevon Smith

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SMITH-1

We are calling on supporters of Justice for Migrant Workers to please show solidarity through your material resources through the following Go Fund Me campaign: https://www.gofundme.com/helpforkevon

Kevon Smith, a migrant worker and father of five, suffered serious injuries while working on a apple farm near Simcoe, Ontario.

After his workplace injury, Kevon’s employer attempted to send him back to Trinidad and Tobago. Kevon knew this was not right, resisted and remained in Canada to access health care for his injuries and fight for  workers’ compensation from the WSIB.

Kevon’s doctors told him he will likely need surgery, but WSIB still refuses to provide him the financial support that would enable him to get it.

IAVGO Community Legal Clinic is helping Kevon challenge this unfair decision, but his status as a migrant worker excludes him from accessing other forms of income support programs. This means that at the moment he is far from home, severely injured and virtually penniless.

We are asking if you can provide some financial support as soon as possible to help Kevon with living costs through this crisis. He needs the funds now and will be able to access it within days of your donation.

Kevon is the sole breadwinner for himself and his young family.  This crisis has made them destitute. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Support Ned Peart (hearing postponed until the Fall 2016)!

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Ned Peart

This is Ned Peart. He was crushed to death by a tobacco kiln while working as a migrant farmworker in Ontario. His family together with Justicia for Migrant Workers have been fighting for over 10 years to change the laws so these kinds of accidents don’t happen again.

The hearing for his case was scheduled for March but was postponed until the Fall of 2016. We will need your support then and we will keep you updated! Help us pack the courtroom and also show our support to Mr. Peart’s family!