Justice for Migrant Workers

Reflection on the Case of Genocide in Guatemala by Julio Ceren

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:35:00 -0400

(Exclusive to Justicia for Migrant Workers…)

The Rios Montt case and my reply to a friend:

Hi Evelyn: how you been? How is everything at work, teaching your classes? I Hope everything is well with you.

Evelyn, you ask me how I’m feeling. Thank you for your question, because it made me think about the accumulation of feelings I have. I’m telling you, last Friday, May 10, which is Mothers’ Day in Guatemala, when I heard the final verdict in the trial for genocide against the ex-President de facto Efraín Ríos Montt of Guatemala, when the Judge pronounced the sentence of genocide and sent him to prison for 80 years, there came to my mind a world of memories. It was a mixture of emotions that even now are difficult to explain, which somehow still leave me with a feeling of uncertainty: satisfaction, vindication, sadness, justification, hope? I’m not sure, but I know it’s not happiness.

Memories of high-school friends came to mind, who, being almost children, were kidnapped and assassinated, friends and comrades from work and struggle who disappeared, and until now we still do not know where their remains lie after having been “detained” by the “security” forces of the Guatemalan state. I thought of the 520 years since the invasion by blood-thirsty Spanish colonialists. The entire history of racism, exclusion, massacres; the 200,000 dead and 45,000 detained and disappeared in the so-called “internal armed conflict”, the men, women, old folk, and children who did not have the slightest opportunity to defend themselves against the brutal oppression of the military, who had nothing to defend themselves with, not even the slightest possibility of doing so. I remembered our forced flight into exile to save ourselves, and all the relatives who had to remain behind in Guatemala.

The feelings I had, penetrating my whole being, when the courageous Judge Jazmín Barrios read the charges of crimes against humanity and genocide, something which always had to remain hidden, are now recognized by the Court. Hearing the sentence imposed on Ríos Montt, 80 years in prison, incommutable, for someone who had felt he was all-powerful, who acted with such evil. The feeling was indescribable. It will remain with me for the rest of my life. The feelings are contradictory, because I also feel that this has become a very distinguished episode in the history of humanity, in the conscience of humanity, which vindicates all those who were affected. Whatever happens later (because Justice in Guatemala is very weak and it’s possible that Ríos Montt might manage to avoid prison), it is important. It’s important because the truth was pronounced in the Court, the Ixil people were heard, especially those women who painfully testified about the crimes committed against them. And he, who was a powerful dictator, had the opportunity he denied to many, to be heard, judged and sentenced.

With this judgement, I also felt that the racist, patriarchal system of oligarchy which excludes and exploits, the history of despoliation and marginalization of the great majority of indigenous, ladino and mestizo people of the country, was being judged. I felt that a sentence was being pronounced against this worn-out, inhumane model of imposition which prevents development, implemented by force in Guatemala, through fire and blood by the settler families, by armed forces who persecuted their own people, through decisions by illegitimate and corrupt governments, nationally and internationally, with the complicity of transnational corporations. This shameful system has to be changed, transformed or eliminated, sooner or later, we don’t know, but justice gives us hope for the future.

I feel that a sentence has also been passed on the indifference of many people, on the consciousness of a part of the Guatemalan people and of the international community, who with their silence, racism and indifference have also been accomplices in this holocaust, because he who knows that a crime has been committed and does not report it is an accomplice by law. I feel a great satisfaction that since Friday, May 10, 2013, the ex-General, who felt and was treated by some as almost a god, arrogant and pretentious, the untouchable José Efraín Ríos Montt, is prisoner no. 19 in the Matamoros penitentiary, convicted of the crime of Genocide.

I also feel somewhat hopeful, because the State of Law in Guatemala has become stronger, because we have managed to deepen the democracy which until now has been limited to proceedings, because the institutions charged with implementing true justice are now beginning to function for the benefit of all, because if we can manage to ensure this minimal degree of governability then our beloved people will be able to enjoy a better life. I understand that this will not resolve all the structural problems of my yearning, beloved country; I’m aware of the limitations, I know that many more struggles remain; however, this sentence is a small, but at the same time, gigantic step. A paradox, no?

I feel that the memory and struggles of many heroes, known and unknown, were vindicated on Friday, May 10, 2013, because a truth was recognized that has been denied for a long time, and because by carrying out justice we can begin to live in peace, to recognize the truth and envision the possibility that the assassins of the people can be brought to justice. To paraphrase Gandhi, we can say that “there is no road to peace, peace is the road.”

Although very far from Guatemala, I have this feeling that only comes from the dignity of all those men, women and institutions who valiantly and proudly endured with stoicism the lies, calumnies, manipulation, threats, intimidation, and physical attacks in their struggle to achieve justice in Guatemala. I feel pain and yearning for all those who were assassinated in these struggles. I feel that now all those buried in clandestine cemeteries can begin to close their eyes in peace.

“They will steal our fruits,

they will cut our branches,

they will burn our trunk,

but they will never be able to kill our roots!” –

Popul Vuh

In any case, Evenly, many emotions and feelings, but I feel well, and many thanks for asking, it has helped me to reflect.

Julio Ceren

Toronto, May 14, 2013—Translated by David Kettle

Reflexión del Caso de Genocidio en Guatemala por Julio Ceren

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:32:43 -0400

Le pregunte a Julio Ceren:

Hola Evelyn: cómo has estado? Como va todo tu trabajo, tus clases? Esperamos que todo muy bien.

Evelyn me preguntas como me siento, te agradezco por la pregunta porque me permite reflexionar sobre el cúmulo de sensaciones que tengo. Te cuento: el viernes 10 de Mayo pasado, el Día de la Madre en Guatemala, cuando escuche el veredicto final sobre el juicio por genocidio contra el ex presidente de facto Efraín Ríos Montt en Guatemala, cuando la Juez pronunció la sentencia sobre que hubo genocidio, lo mandó a prisión por 80 años, vinieron a mi mente un mundo de recuerdos, fue una mezcla de emociones que hasta este momento son difíciles de explicar y que de alguna manera no me dejan tener una certeza sobre lo que siento: satisfacción, reivindicación, tristeza, dignificación, esperanza? No sé, de lo que si estoy seguro es que no es alegría.

Vinieron a mi mente mis compañeros y compañeras de educación básica (High School) que siendo casi niños fueron secuestrados y asesinados, mis amigos y amigas, compañeros de trabajo y lucha que fueron desaparecidos y, hasta hoy, no sabemos en dónde se encuentran sus restos después de haber sido “detenidos” por la “seguridad” del Estado guatemalteco. Vienen a mi mente los 520 años transcurridos desde la invasión de los sangrientos colonizadores españoles. Toda la historia de racismo, de exclusión, de masacres; las 200,000 muertes y los 45,000 detenidos desaparecidos del mal llamado “conflicto armado interno”, los hombres mujeres, ancianas, los niños y niñas que no tuvieron ni la más mínima oportunidad de defenderse de la brutal agresión de los militares, no tenían nada para defenderse, ni la más mínima posibilidad de hacerlo. Me recordé de nuestro exilio obligado, para salvar la vida y toda la familia que tuvo que quedarse en Guatemala.

La emoción que fui sintiendo y penetrando todo mi ser, cuando la valiente Juez Jazmín Barrios leyó los cargos por crímenes de lesa humanidad y genocidio, algo que siempre han tratado de ocultar, ahora está reconocido por un Tribunal. El escuchar que sumadas las condenas que le impusieron a Ríos Montt son 80 años de cárcel, inconmutables, a alguien que se sentía todo poderoso y actuó con tanta maldad; esa parte, solamente esa parte es indescriptible. Quedará grabada en mí por el resto de mi vida. Los sentimientos son contradictorios, porque también siento que esa parte ya ha quedado grabada en una parte muy digna de la historia de la humanidad, en la conciencia de la humanidad, y que reivindica a todas las personas afectadas. No importa que suceda después, porque la Justicia en Guatemala es muy débil y posiblemente Ríos Montt logre su salida de la cárcel en algún tiempo, pero eso no es lo importante. Lo importante es que la verdad fue pronunciada en el Tribunal, que el pueblo Ixil pudo ser escuchado, especialmente las mujeres que con gran dolor narraron los ultrajes que recibieron. También que él, que fue un dictador con mucho poder, tuvo la oportunidad que le negó a muchas personas y pudo ser escuchado, juzgado y sentenciado.

Con esa sentencia sentí que también se juzgó al sistema oligárquico, excluyente, explotador, racista y patriarcal; a la historia de despojo y marginación de las grandes mayorías indígenas, ladinas y mestizas del país. Sentí que se juzgó y sentenció ese modelo de imposición que imposibilita el desarrollo, caduco e inhumano, implementado en Guatemala a fuerza, fuego y sangre por las familias criollas, por una fuerzas armadas que persiguieron a su propio pueblo, por decisión de gobiernos ilegítimos y corruptos, nacionales e internacionales, con la complicidad de las corporaciones transnacionales. Ese modelo de oprobio tiene que ser modificado, transformado o erradicado, hoy o mañana, no sabemos, pero el juicio nos da esperanza en el futuro

Sentí que se juzgó y sentenció la indiferencia de mucha gente, la conciencia de una parte del pueblo de Guatemala y de la comunidad internacional que con su silencio, racismo y desinterés, han sido también cómplices de ese holocausto, porque, el que sabe que se cometió un crimen y no lo denuncia, es cómplice por ley. Siento una gran satisfacción que desde el viernes 10 de Mayo del 2013, el ex general, el que se sentía y que algunas personas trataban como un semi Dios, arrogante y pretensioso, el intocable José Efraín Ríos Montt es el REO # 19 del presidio de Matamoros convicto por GENOCIDIO.

Siento también un pequeño aliento de esperanza, porque el Estado de Derecho guatemalteco se fortalezca, porque logremos profundizar una democracia que ahora se limita a procedimientos, que las instituciones encargadas de brindar justicia en verdad empiecen a funcionar para todos y todas, porque si se logra asegurar esa mínima gobernabilidad nuestro querido pueblo podrá vivir mejor. Entiendo que con esto no se resolverán todos los problemas estructurales de mi añorado y querido país, tengo claras las limitaciones, para eso faltan muchas luchas más; sé que esta sentencia es un paso pequeño, pero gigante a la misma vez, ¿paradójico verdad?

Sentí que la memoria y luchas de muchos héroes y heroínas, conocidas o anónimas, fueron reivindicadas el viernes 10 de Mayo del 2013, porque se reconoció una verdad negada por mucho tiempo y se pudo hacer justicia y cuando se logra la justicia, entonces sí podemos empezar a vivir en paz, conociendo la verdad y vislumbrando la posibilidad de que los asesinos del pueblo sean juzgados. Parafraseando a Ghandi afirmamos que “no hay camino para la paz, la paz es el camino”.

Sentí, aun estando muy lejos de Guatemala, esa sensación que únicamente da la dignidad, de todas esas mujeres, hombres e instituciones que valiente y orgullosamente han aguantado estoicamente las mentiras, calumnias, manipulaciones, amenazas, intimidaciones, ataques físicos, por su lucha por lograr justicia en Guatemala. Sentí dolor y añoranza por todas las personas que fueron asesinadas en esas luchas. Hoy siento que los ojos de los y las enterradas en las cientos de fosas clandestinas empezaron a cerrarse en paz.

¡¡¡Arrancaron nuestros frutos,
Cortaron nuestras ramas,
Quemaron nuestro tronco,
Pero no pudieron matar nuestras raíces!!!!

Popol Vuh

En todo caso Evelyn, muchas emociones y sentimientos, pero me siento bien y mil gracias por preguntar, me ayudaste a reflexionar.

Grande el abrazo,

Julio Ceren-Canadá 14 de Mayo de 2013

****Julio Ceren: Activista, Promotor Cultural y Trabajador Comunitario , estudió en el George Brown College en Toronto. Llegó a Canadá como refugiado político desde su país natal Guatemala en 1992. Co-fundador y facilitador de la Coalición Todos por Guatemala (red de solidaridad con Guatemala en Canada); Co-fundador de Casa Maíz y Director Ejecutivo por siete años (Centro Cultural Latinoamericano en Toronto) Es también Co-Fundador del Foro Nuesta América - Canadá (Espacio anual de encuentro y análisis de la comunidad latinoamericana en Canada) Co-Fundador de La Fiesta Cultural (Organización sin fines de lucro que promueve y facilita eventos culturales latinoamericanos en Ontario, Canadá). Ha sido el Coordinador de la Red Comunitaria Guatemalteca (GCN) por los últimos 15 años organizando un sin numero de eventos culturales, giras de activistas guatemaltecos y canadienses a Canadá y Guatemala, recaudación de fondos en apoyo a las víctimas de desastres naturales en latinoamerica y campañas internacionales en apoyo a los Derechos Humanos. Consultor Comunitario para un gran número de organizaciones latinoamericanas en Toronto. Este trabajo ha sido todo voluntario.

Historic Rights Tribunal to Examine Workplace Deaths of Temporary Foreign Workers

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 17:49:57 -0400

Historic Rights Tribunal to Examine Workplace Deaths of Temporary Foreign Workers.

For immediate release

Who: Family of Ned Livingston Peart, Migrant Workers, Justicia for Migrant Workers (J4MW) and community allies 

What: Hearing at the Human Rights Tribunal regarding the death of migrant worker Ned Livingston Peart 

Where: Ontario Human Rights Tribunal 655 Bay at Elm. St (between Dundas St. and Gerrard St) 14th Floor

When: April 17th, 18th, 24^th, 25thand 26th; 9:00-5:00pm  

TORONTO- April 17th is the first day of an historic hearing at the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal. The tribunal will examine evidence regarding the workplace death of Jamaican migrant worker Ned Livingston Peart. Mr. Peart was crushed to death while working on a tobacco farm near Brantford, Ontario on August 22, 2002. Mr. Peart was one of over 30,000 migrant workers that toil under the auspices of the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program, a government program that brings farm workers from Mexico and the Caribbean to farms across Canada.

The Peart family sought to have a coroner’s inquest held into the death because their communications with Mr. Peart led them to have concerns over dangerous working conditions on the farm. The Office of Chief Coroner denied the request. Working with Justicia for Migrant Workers’ organizers, the family then brought a complaint to the Human Rights Commission in the summer of 2005 claiming that the Coroners Act, which provides mandatory inquests for certain types of workers while excluding others, violates the Ontario Human Rights Code by causing adverse impacts not only on Mr. Peart but all migrant farm workers in Ontario.

This case is of historical importance because it seeks to ensure a safer working environment for all migrant workers in the province by requesting an inquest into Mr. Peart’s death as well as wider systemic reforms in how the Office of Chief Coroner investigates the death of migrant agricultural workers. There has never been a coroner’s inquest into the death of a migrant worker.

“For over ten years, the Peart family has sought answers into the death of Ned. Ned was a brother, father, son and community leader. His death devastated a community. It is our responsibility to implement changes so occupational deaths like Mr. Peart never happen again,” says Tzazna Miranda Leal, organizer with Justicia for Migrant Workers (J4MW).

Miranda Leal continues “Whether it was the accident that claimed the lives of two migrant workers near Ayton, Ontario or the accident near Hampstead Ontario, migrant workers continue to be employed under dangerous conditions. As temporary foreign worker programs expand, it is imperative that steps are taken to protect precarious communities such as migrant workers.”

For More Information please contact:

Tzazna Miranda Leal at j4mw.on@gmail.com or 647 618 5325

Chris Ramsaroop at j4mw.on@gmail.com or 647 834 4932

J4MW BC Statement in Response to "Reality TV Raids" Targeting Migrant Workers in Vancouver

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 01:31:02 -0400

J4MW BC Statement in Response to “Reality TV Raids” Targeting Migrant Workers in Vancouver

In response to the recent raids conducted in Vancouver by the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) in conjunction with a reality tv show called “Border Security: Canada’s Front Line” J4MW BC would like to express our outrage and disgust.

The lives, well being, and basic human rights to due process, dignity and privacy, of workers of color and their families are at stake when faced by CBSA raids. To trivialize this and turn it into mediocre entertainment pandering to the racist right wing of the country is plain obscene. Both the CBSA and the corporate entity behind the show, Force Four Entertainment, are engaging in a despicable partnership for propaganda purposes that should be illegal and is morally repugnant.

CBSA and the shows producers have crossed a line here. We join in solidarity will all migrant and immigrant workers, and workers of color, weather documented, or not, weather permanent or temporary, and with their allies in Canada in calling for the cancellation of this show and for an end to CBSA workplace raids and all harassment of migrant workers.

Post your opinions on this matter on the official Facebook pages of the show and its producers:
http://www.facebook.com/bordertvcanada
http://www.facebook.com/ForceFourEntertainment

Background Story:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2013/03/14/bc-immigration-raids-reality-tv.html

Reflecting on our visit to Ottawa: Our demands for justice and dignity goes beyond borders for the separation of our families and our communities occur because of borders

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 16:21:56 -0500

We can not claim to have civil conversations without dismantling the foundations of injustice that has built this nation.

Yesterday’s meeting with the Federal Government can be summed up this way. Employer organizations and labour unions, Federal Govt, MWAC and J4MW engaged in discussions about Canada’s temporary foreign worker programs. J4MW and MWAC held our ground! We brought our demands: Status upon arrival, equal access to entitlements, no fees for work, reforming labour laws, and an end to repatriations and deportations.

We brought up the power of bosses, recruiters and the role of the Federal government in denying migrant work rights.

Winston a migrant worker who lost his legal because of the structure of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker program spoke eloquently about the injustices that he and his comrades have faced. He spoke about the day to day conditions that farm workers must endure and how his amputation resulted from our immigration laws.

These roundtable discussions did not happen in a vacuum. Its not because of one injustice or an exceptional situation. But they are occurring on the backs of migrants who have died, have been deported, who are banned from working in Canada, for those who are injured and will never work again, for those whose lives have been destroyed because of Canada’s temporary foreign workers.

These conservations can not be relegated to the back rooms of power but these conversations must continue where ever you are our comrades. The fight for change will continue in Simcoe, in Leamington, Niagara, in Medicine Hat, the Yukon, Newfoundland, Manitoba, Quebec.

Our demands for justice and dignity goes beyond borders for the separation of our families and our communities occur because of borders.

Thank you for your strength and your commitment to demand change. The fight for justice continues!!!

@j4mw

Organización canadiense de apoyo a trabajadores migrantes, con apoyo de organizaciones mexicanas y estadounidenses, denuncian al gobierno federal canadiense por desmantelar las prestaciones y beneficios sociales que recibían trabajadores agrícolas mexicanos en Canadá, y lanza campaña en ambos países por la restitución de tales beneficios.

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 00:37:58 -0500

BOLETÍN DE PRENSA
PARA SU DIFUSIÓN INMEDIATA

Organización canadiense de apoyo a trabajadores migrantes, con apoyo de organizaciones mexicanas y estadounidenses, denuncian al gobierno federal canadiense por desmantelar las prestaciones y beneficios sociales que recibían trabajadores agrícolas mexicanos en Canadá, y lanza campaña en ambos países por la restitución de tales beneficios.

CONFERENCIA DE PRENSA: Jueves 21 de febrero, 10:30am

LUGAR: CENCOS: Medellín #33 Colonia Roma. Del Cuauhtemoc. CP. 06700, México D.F.

México D.F. 19 de febrero de 2013. La organización canadiense Justicia for Migrant Workers(J4MW), junto a las organizaciones mexicanas Asociación Popular de Familias de Migrantes , Proyecto de Derechos Económicos, Sociales y Culturales y organizaciones estadounidenses Global Workers Justice Alliance y Centro de Derechos del Migrante Inc , denuncian y se manifiestan en contra de la cancelación de uno de los pocos beneficios y prestaciones sociales de que gozaban los trabajadores mexicanos participantes del Programa de Trabajadores Agrícolas Temporales en Canadá (PTAT).

El pasado 6 de diciembre de 2012, Diane Finley, Ministra de Recursos Humanos y Desarrollo de Aptitudes de Canadá (HRSDC - por sus siglas en inglés), anunció la eliminación del Seguro de Desempleo así como de los beneficios de paternidad, maternidad y “de compasión”, para los trabajadores migrantes participantes del PTAT que emplea anualmente a más de 30,000 trabajadores mexicanos y del Caribe. La Ministra olvidó mencionar que estos trabajadores continuarán pagando este fondo de protección social, como lo han hecho desde 1974, sólo que ahora no podrán cobrar estos beneficios. Se estima que los trabajadores migrantes han contribuido con 125 millones de dólares canadienses al Seguro de Desempleo, sin embargo no fue sino hasta el 2002 cuando algunos trabajadores migrantes comenzaron a tener acceso a algunas de estas prestaciones.

“Los trabajadores jornaleros migrantes llevan a cabo las labores más duras en los campos canadienses y estadounidenses, muchas veces en condiciones precarias y peligrosas que ponen en riesgo la salud y la vida de los trabajadores, de hecho son unos de los trabajadores más vulnerables y desprotegidos en estos países” afirma Griselda Vega de Global Workers Justice Alliance. Jessica Stender del Centro de Derechos del Migrante observa que “La eliminación de estos beneficios es otro ejemplo del tipo de trato injusto que reciben los(as) migrantes por parte de diversos gobiernos receptores de migración laboral. Es demasiado común que los derechos y garantías de los(as) mismos(as) trabajadores(as) migrantes que proveen un apoyo incalculable a la economía de estos países, sean completamente ignorados puesto que, por ejemplo, no reciben a la práctica el apoyo social que otros(as) trabajadores(as) nacionales sí reciben”. A decir de Alejandra Ancheíta del Proyecto de Derechos Económicos, Sociales y Culturales “La movida del gobierno canadiense de cancelar beneficios sociales a los trabajadores huéspedes contradice profundamente el espíritu del acuerdo binacional entre ambos países en donde Canadá supuestamente se compromete a dar a los trabajadores mexicanos un tratamiento igual al recibido por los trabajadores canadienses que realicen el mismo tipo de trabajo agrícola”.

J4MW inició una campaña en Canadá por la restitución de las prestaciones y beneficios sociales que les fueron retirados a los trabajadores migrantes. Integrantes de esta organización se encuentran de visita en México y buscan informar al público y a las organizaciones de la sociedad civil mexicana sobre el injusto recorte al que fueron sometidos los beneficios ya que dicha información no ha sido difundida en México. Adriana Paz Ramírez, integrante de J4MW afirma que “por más de cuarenta años los trabajadores migrantes han subsidiado el fondo del Seguro de Desempleo de Canadá, pero no han sido ‘elegibles’ para recibir los beneficios completos, y ahora están siendo despojados completamente de los pocos beneficios especiales a los que podían acceder. Esto es completamente injusto e indignante”. Dada esta situación, J4MW iniciará una campaña en México para difundir la situación de los trabajadores migrantes en Canadá.

Convocantes: Justicia para Trabajadores Migrantes -J4MW, Asociación Popular de Familias de Migrantes -APOFAM, Centro de Derechos del Migrante -CDM, Global Workers Justice Alliance -GWJA, Proyecto de Derechos Económicos, Sociales y Culturales -PRODESC

Contacto de prensa: Adriana Paz, 55 45 20 25 20, adriana.paz@justicia4migrantworkers.org, www.justicia4migrantworkers.org, http://www.facebook.com/justice4mw, https://twitter.com/j4mw

Hampstead tragedy poster, please share within your social media...

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 14:41:44 -0500

Hampstead tragedy poster, please share within your social media networks so we never forget and continue to fight for migrant justice

Open letter to Premier-Designate Kathleen Wynne Re: Hampstead tragedy

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 14:18:45 -0500

Justicia for Migrant Workers
c/o Workers Action Centre
720 Spadina Avenue, Suite 223
Toronto, ON M5S 2T9
Canada

February 6, 2013

Open letter to Premier-Designate Kathleen Wynne

Premier Wynne,

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the deaths of eleven people in Hampstead, Ontario. One year later, the survivors and the families of the deceased are still left with many questions but with few answers about how and why this accident took place.

In the past year, many community and labour organizations rallied together to urge changes so that accidents like this one never happen again. We urged the Office of Chief Coroner to conduct its first ever inquest into the workplace deaths of migrant workers employed under the Federal Temporary Foreign Worker Programs. We also met with Ministry of Labour officials to advocate for reform of labour laws to protect Ontario’s most vulnerable communities. But our requests have been ignored. The Chief Coroner’s refusal to further investigate one of the worst workplace accidents in the history of Ontario sends a message that the lives of those who perished — most of whom were migrant workers — matter less than those of other workers. We remind you that there has NEVER been an inquest into the death of a migrant worker in the Province of Ontario.

Employment standards, Occupational Health and Safety and Workers Compensation remain woefully inadequate denying equal access to rights that all workers deserve. At the same time, migrant workers are not provided with special protections against reprisals for attempting to enforce their rights at work. Temporary foreign workers remain at the mercy of unscrupulous recruiters and contractors who can charge exorbitant recruitment and placement fees.

We urge you undertake the following steps

• Review the decision not to undertake an inquest into the Hampstead accident

• Strengthen anti-reprisal mechanisms so that migrant workers can enforce their rights at work

• Ban all recruitment and placement fees for all temporary foreign workers

• Modernize Ontario labour laws to protect the most vulnerable workers in the province

• Write a letter to the federal government urging them to provide permanent immigration status

for the survivors of the Hampstead accident

Premier Wynne, you have on many occasions referred to yourself as Ontario’s ‘Social Justice Premier’. We can think of no better way to put those words into action than by taking the necessary steps to protect the most precarious and marginalized population of workers in Ontario. To do nothing is not only a disservice, but dishonours the memory of all those men who died in an accident that could have been prevented.

Migrant workers deserve equal rights in Ontario. Currently these rights barely exist on paper. It is incumbent on your office to take the necessary steps to ensure justice for the families of the deceased and dignity for the survivors. This province must take its responsibility to protect precarious workers seriously by enacting meaningful and proactive legislation that protects all workers

Regards,

Justicia for Migrant Workers Collective

j4mw.on@gmail.com
toll-free number: 1-877-707-6620 x 1
www.justicia4migrantworkers.org

Join us this Tuesday, February 5th at the Ross Building S701,...

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 22:24:01 -0500

Join us this Tuesday, February 5th at the Ross Building S701, 2:30-4:30pm at York University for this important talk…

Nursing Labour Process and the Rise of Employer Demand for Temporary Migrant Nurses: The North American Role in a Global Story

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 22:18:00 -0500

Dispatches from the Global Labour Movement: Winter 2013 Speaker Series

Nursing Labour Process and the Rise of Employer Demand for Temporary Migrant Nurses: The North American Role in a Global Story

Salimah Valiani
Economist and Policy Analyst
Ontario Nurses’ Association

Tuesday, February 5th
Ross S701
2:30-4:30pm

A collaboration of:
- Centre for Research on Work & Society
- Canada Research Chair in Comparative Political Economy
- Work & Labour Studies Program, LAPS
- Canada Research Chair in the Political Economy of Gender & Work

Co-sponsors:
- Centre for Feminist Research
- Department of Social Science, LAPS
- Department of Sociology, LAPS
- York Institute for Health Research

YorkU event with Justicia for Migrant Workers

Sun, 13 Jan 2013 16:51:00 -0500

Borders Crossed: Migration, Temporary Workers and Undocumented Migrants

Tuesday, January 22, 2013, 12:45-2:15

Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University, HNES 140

Participants: Yogi Acharya, Evelyn Encalada, Liette Gilbert, Min Sook Lee

Migration control has been crucial in creating modern nation states and racialized forms of citizenship. This holds true also for Canadian migration policy, which has played an important role in dispossessing indigenous peoples and racializing class relations. This workshop will discuss the work of artists, activists and researchers in engaging with the realities that confront temporary and undocumented migrant workers while supporting ongoing struggles for indigenous sovereignty in Canada.

A letter to Minister Finley re migrant workers' EI exclusion

Sun, 16 Dec 2012 01:36:00 -0500

Dear Minister Finley,

Can the government make us happy? Can the government make us unhappy, at this time of holiday celebrations and joyous moments with friends and loved ones?

For the most part, I would say no. But I want to let you know that the recent decision you have made to disallow parental benefits and compassionate leave to the workers who migrate to Canada to work in our fields, providing food, makes me unhappy.

I want to believe that Canada is generous, compassionate, caring. I want my government’s policies and actions to reflect those values.

How much does the support for migrant workers cost? It must be absolutely minimal, a mere tiny drop in the big bucket of government expenses. I would imagine that the amount that could be saved many times over by a bit of increased frugality by ministerial expenses. It is nothing compared to what Canada spends on weapons, which is an expense that makes me unhappy.

In my imagination, to be honest, I see your government as Scrooge-like. I can see the table you and the other government ministers will sit down to, for a holiday feast. We can imagine that some of the food at your table will be brought to you by the labour of migrant farm workers. Certainly you are valuing highly this delicious, healthy Canadian food. Is that correct? Food, shelter, warmth, these are the big three amongst human needs. So these workers, who come to our country to bring food to our tables, are among the most important among us. I want them to be treated with great respect, and be given the benefits that they are deserving.

Maybe there will come a “scrooge moment” in which the tables are turned, and in a dream you imagine yourself to be such a worker, with children to be cared for, and you might find in your dream that you love your dream children as much as your children in “real life”. Maybe there would be the transformation that occurred to Scrooge — from miserly, tight fisted, protective to a fault, unhappy… to a caring and happy provider.

Wishing you the very best of the season, as we all come to understand what that best is….

Sincerely,

Roger Davies
33 Dakin Drive
Halifax, NS B3M 2C9

J4MW call to action

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 12:50:19 -0500

Dear J4MW allies,

Over the last days Justicia for Migrant Workers has been sending information about the devastating and unjust news about recent Federal government’s announcement to eliminate Employment Insurance (EI) special parental, maternal and compassionate benefits for migrant workers starting on Dec 9^th.

The Toronto Star has written both an editorial and a news item based on J4MW’s concerns over the recent elimination of Employment Insurance Benefits (maternity, parental and compassionate care). Special benefits are extremely important for migrant workers and their families because they provide income support to take care of new born babies, and ailing family members. We must fight against this tremendous injustice along with the workers and we need the support of all of you.

We need to keep the momentum!! Below there is a list of actions you can do to support this fight:

1) Spread the word! re-send this email. Circulate J4MW press release and Toronto Star articles among your friends and networks. Links below

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1300423—seasonal-migrant-workers-stripped-of-parental-benefits

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/article/1300782—ottawa-should-treat-migrant-workers-with-basic-fairness

2) Write a letter to the editor to express your outrage over how migrant workers are treated in Canada. In your letter you can highlight the following:

a. Your concerns over the cuts to EI special benefits for migrant workers and the impact that this will have on migrant workers and their families back home

b. Explain why you think this benefit should be restored and why migrant workers should be entitled to all benefits that Canadians receive.

c. Demand the benefits to be restored, not exempted

d. Emphasize that the solution is full inclusion and expansion of access to EI benefits for all workers rather than exempting migrant workers from EI deductions from EI. This `solution’ will only further their exclusion and marginalization perpetuating a ‘second class’ citizens status.

*To get a letter to the editor published it should be no more than a 150 words. Emphasize one key point and send your letter in the next 36 hours.

3) Send the article to your Member of Provincial Parliament (MP) and ask them where do they stand on this issue and what steps will they take to restore EI benefits for migrant workers?

4) Take a picture and tweet it!

Migrant workers and community activists have been sending Diane Finley, Jason Kenney and their local MP’s photos and messages expressing their outrage over these cuts. Links to pictures and messages below

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/mob0ym50xavq5z3/d15pCUrvGk

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/04vksikjkfmb4tn/uGc5YRYZlA

J4MW Twitter: https://twitter.com/j4mw

J4MW Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/justice4mw

5) Come out to our Vigil to on Tuesday December 18^thInternational Migrant Workers Day!

J4MW is organizing a vigil on Tuesday December 18^th International Day of Migrant Workers at the monument dedicated to the Chinese Railroad Workers in Toronto from 5:30pm to 6:30pm. This year’s vigil will highlight the litany of injustices experienced by migrant workers and the numerous forms of resistance that workers have undertaken against conditions under Canada’s migrant worker schemes.

Thank you for your support and engagement to fight for Justice for Migrant Workers!!

Adriana Paz—-on behalf of J4MW

Dear J4MW allies, over the last days...

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 12:33:00 -0500

Dear J4MW allies,

over the last days Justicia for Migrant Workers has been sending information about the devastating and unjust news about recent Federal government’s announcement to eliminate Employment Insurance (EI) special parental, maternal and compassionate benefits for migrant workers starting on Dec 9^th.

The Toronto Star has written both an editorial and a news item based on J4MW’s concerns over the recent elimination of Employment Insurance Benefits (maternity, parental and compassionate care). Special benefits are extremely important for migrant workers and their families because they provide income support to take care of new born babies, and ailing family members. We must fight against this tremendous injustice along with the workers and we need the support of all of you.

We need to keep the momentum!! Below there is a list of actions you can do to support this fight:

1) Spread the word! re-send this email. Circulate J4MW press release and Toronto Star articles among your friends and networks. Links below

2) Write a letter to the editor to express your outrage over how migrant workers are treated in Canada. In your letter you can highlight the following:

a. Your concerns over the cuts to EI special benefits for migrant workers and the impact that this will have on migrant workers and their families back home

b. Explain why you think this benefit should be restored and why migrant workers should be entitled to all benefits that Canadians receive.

c. Demand the benefits to be restored, not exempted

*To get a letter to the editor published it should be no more than a 150 words. Emphasize one key point and send your letter in the next 36 hours.

3) Send the article to your Member of Parliament (MP) and ask them where do they stand on this issue and what steps will they take to restore EI benefits for migrant workers?

4) Take a picture and tweet it! Migrant workers and community activists have been sending Diane Finley, Jason Kenney and their local MP’s photos and messages expressing their outrage over these cuts. Links to pictures and messages below

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/mob0ym50xavq5z3/d15pCUrvGk

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/04vksikjkfmb4tn/uGc5YRYZlA

J4MW Twitter: https://twitter.com/j4mw

J4MW Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/justice4mw

5) Come out to our Vigil to on Tuesday December 18^thInternational Migrant Workers Day! J4MW is organizing a vigil on Tuesday December 18^th International Day of Migrant Workers at the monument dedicated to the Chinese Railroad Workers in Toronto from 5:30pm to 6:30pm. This year’s vigil will highlight the litany of injustices experienced by migrant workers and the numerous forms of resistance that workers have undertaken against conditions under Canada’s migrant worker schemes.

Thank you for your support and engagement to fight for Justice for Migrant Workers!!

Adriana Paz—-on behalf of J4MW

Migrant rights activists denounce Canada’s Federal Government for stripping away Employment Insurance benefits for migrant workers

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 03:15:00 -0500

ATTN: ALL NEWS EDITORS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Migrant rights activists denounce Canada’s Federal Government for stripping away Employment Insurance benefits for migrant workers

December 9, Toronto - Migrant worker advocates are angered and shocked to learn that the Federal Government is once again attacking one of Canada’s most vulnerable populations.

Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Diane Finley announced on December 6th the elimination of Employment Insurance (EI) special parental, maternal and compassionate benefits for migrant workers employed under Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker program. The minister failed to report that these workers will continue to pay into this social protection fund, as they have been doing so since 1966, yet now will no longer be able to collect these benefits.

Migrant workers perform back-breaking dangerous jobs and pay into government social protection programs yet they are consistently denied the benefits of such programs. It is estimated that migrant workers have contributed $ 3.4 million annually into Canada’s Employment Insurance scheme since 1966. However it was not until 2002 that some migrant workers started to access special benefits. Over the last ten years, workers from the Caribbean and Mexico have benefited from parental benefits to provide much needed support for their newly born children. By eliminating this benefit the federal government is in fact eliminating one of the few income supports that are available to migrant workers employed under Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Programs.

Junior Sylvester a twelve year veteran of the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program says “The elimination of these special benefits violates the nature of the Employment Insurance act that was put into place to protect our families and our children from falling into poverty”.

“For over forty years migrant workers have been subsidizing Canada’s EI fund yet have been ‘ineligible’ to receive full benefits, and now they are being completely stripped away from the few special benefits they were able to access. This is completely unjust and outrageous” says Justicia for Migrant Workers’ organizer Adriana Paz Ramirez. Given this situation, Paz Ramirez states that “the fight right now should be to restore this benefit and to fully include migrant workers into social protection programs rather than eliminating access and reinforcing a system that perpetuates exclusion and marginalization of migrant workers”.

For more information please call Chris Ramsaroop at 647-834-4932 or email at j4mw.on@gmail.com.

-30-

Toronto Talk: Human Trafficking: What's Going On?

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 22:37:20 -0500

Human Trafficking: What’s Going On?

Friday, November 30th @ 7pm

Ryerson University
Ted Rogers School of Management, 55 Dundas St W., 7th floor

Please join us for an exciting public panel that explores the international and Canadian trends in “human trafficking.”

The panellists ask: Why has human trafficking become a legal and policy priority in Canada, and with what effects? How have international dialogues shaped Canadian public policy? Why does migration for the purposes of engaging in sexual labour capture the public imagination, while other forms of labour-related migration disappear from discussions of criminal exploitation?

Melissa Ditmore (Sex Workers Project - New York City)
Annalee Lepp (Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women and the University of Victoria)
Nandita Sharma (University of Hawai’i - Manoa)
Harsha Walia (Anticolonial migrant justice activist and author – Vancouver)

This is a FREE event, held in a wheelchair accessible space.

Co-sponsored by:
Law Research Centre (Ryerson University)
Centre for Feminist Research (York University)

Generously supported by:
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Ryerson University
Office of the Dean of Arts, Ryerson University
Office of the Vice President, Research and Innovation, Ryerson University
Ryerson Student Union
Graduate Program in Socio-Legal Studies, York University
Graduate Program in Gender, Feminist and Women’s Studies, York University
Department of Social Science, York University

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/events/297512677020410/
Media Requests: HT.workshop@ryerson.ca

Workshop in Toronto: The Impact of Precarious Legal Status on Immigrants' Economic Outcomes

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 20:58:26 -0500

The Institute for Research on Public Policy, in collaboration with the
Cities Centre, University of Toronto, is pleased to invite you to an
authors workshop with Luin Goldring (York University) and Patricia
Landolt(University of Toronto).

Thursday, November 29, 2012
12:00 to 2:00 p.m.
Room 548, Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, 246 Bloor Street West

The authors will present their recent IRPP study,The Impact of
Precarious Legal Status on Immigrants’ Economic Outcomes. Monica Boyd
(University of Toronto) and Debbie Douglas(Ontario Council of Agencies
Serving Immigrants) will be the commentators. The presentation and
commentaries will be followed by a discussion period. The workshop
will be moderated by Leslie Seidle (Research Director, Diversity,
Immigration and Integration, IRPP).

According to Goldring and Landolt, immigrants with precarious legal
status - people without permanent residence including temporary
foreign workers, refugee claimants, international students and others
who may not have work authorization - often end up in precarious work
situations that expose them to labour practices that “erode, violate
or evade employment standards.” The effects are long lasting, even for
those who subsequently become permanent residents. This is especially
of concern in a context where “a growing number of newcomers spend
time navigating various forms of temporary and probationary legal
status before they can apply for permanent residence,” while others
remain in a temporary category or stay in Canada without work or
residence authorization.

Given recent major changes in Canada’s immigration system, such as
large increases in the number of temporary foreign workers and new
pathways to permanent residence, the findings reported in this IRPP
study have important implications. The authors identify a number of
ways to mitigate the effects of precarious status on immigrant
economic outcomes.

A light lunch will be available.

There is no fee to attend. As space is limited, we ask you to confirm
your presence early by contacting Suzanne Lambert by e-mail
atslambert@irpp.org.

http://www.latinamericanresearchers.com/1/post/2012/11/new-report-the-impact-of-precarious-legal-status-on-immigrants-economic-outcomes.html

Talk in Toronto: Promoting Democracy and Human Rights Through Education and Libraries in Guatemala

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 22:49:59 -0500

Please join us for Jorge Chojolán’s inspiring talk, Promoting Democracy and Human Rights Through Education and Libraries in Guatemala, beginning at 6 pm on Tuesday, November 13.

What: Promoting Democracy and Human Rights Through Education and Libraries in Guatemala (In Spanish and simultaneously translated into English.)

When: Tuesday, November 13, from 6:00 to 7:30 pm

Where: St. Michael’s College Muzzo Family Alumni Hall (121 St. Joseph Street, Toronto)

Cost: No charge; no RSVP required

Jorge Chojolán, human rights activist and founder of the Miguel Angel Asturias Academy in Guatemala, is coming to the University of Toronto to talk about his personal and professional experiences within impoverished communities in his home country. The Asturias Academy is dedicated to providing alternative education to the children of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala.

Event Description: Promoting democracy and human rights through education and libraries in Guatemala. Jorge Chojolán - an internationally recognized social entrepreneur, educator, and human rights activist — was born into the indigenous Mayan community in the deeply inequitable society of Guatemala. Despite the barriers before him, he rose to achieve a university degree and went on to found the Miguel Angel Asturias Academy in the predominantly indigenous city of Quetzaltenango. His goal is to transform his society through education at the school by educating and empowering some of Guatemala’s most vulnerable children: girls, the indigenous and the poor. Mr. Chojolán will discuss the importance of having access to school and public libraries, education to democracy in Guatemala and speak about the Academy’s unique educational model. For more detailed information, please visit our website.

We will also be hosting two free conversational workshops Jorge Chojolán and Librarians Without Borders on Monday, November 12^th, and Tuesday, November 13^th. For more information on these workshops, click here.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Warmest regards,

Adriana

Adriana Rossini, MLS, MBA

Registrar and Director of Student Services

Faculty of Information, University of Toronto

140 St. George Street, Room 216

Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G6 CANADA

The Department of Geography & the York Centre for Research...

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 20:23:47 -0400

The Department of Geography & the York Centre for Research on Latin America and
the Caribbean (CERLAC)is proud to present a screening of:

2 Revolución - A Film by Paul Bocking

Wednesday, November 7th 4:00pm
Nat Taylor Cinema Ross Building, York University

Featured Speakers: Evelyn Encalada Grez, Researcher and Community Organizer
(CERLAC) and Paul Bocking, the film’s director

The standard story about NAFTA is that it took jobs from Canadian and American
workers and sent them to Mexico. But free trade’s impact on Mexico has proved
to be even worse for Mexican workers, their families, and their communities.
On the hundredth anniversary of the Mexican Revolution and bicentenary of
Mexican Independence, we speak with community leaders, factory workers,
educators, union activists, and advocates for migrant justice to explore how
Mexico has been affected by neoliberal policies and economics, and to examine
the grassroots social movements that seek to promote social justice across
borders.

A link to a trailer of the film on youtube: http://youtu.be/29zPmEd951g

The Growing Community Health-Group is seeking volunteers...

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 01:18:40 -0400

The Growing Community Health-Group asked us to send out this request…

Looking for General Volunteers as well as Spanish and Thai Speakers to Help Translate for Migrant Farm Worker Health Fairs!!!

If you are interested in community support work, or specifically in the area of health service support this is a great opportunity to get some experience, and get involved.

Working with migrant farm worker communities throughout Ontario, our group has identified a continued disconnect between migrant farm workers and local community support services, including basic health services. To try to address this disconnect we organize health fairs where local organizations and service providers are invited to attend to offer information to migrant farm workers regarding their services with the intention to start to bridge connections between these organizations and the community.

We are looking for general volunteers to help out with a variety of tasks, and as many of the migrant farm workers we work with do not speak English we are also looking for spanish and thai speakers to volunteer to help translate during our health fairs. Our group is based in Guelph, and we provide transportation from Guelph to the fairs and back and also provide refreshments and food for you during the trip to and from, and during the health fair. If you live outside of the Guelph area please email us and we can work to provide you with transportation as well. All volunteers will be provided with a formal letter of participation, and we can serve as a reference if requested as well.

The details of our upcoming healths are below.

Leamington Migrant Farm Worker Community Health Fair

Sunday September 30^th, 2012- 1:30pm-5:00pm

The location will be at the Leamington Kinsmen Recreation Complex

249 Sherk St. Leamington, Ontario N8H 4X7

Please contact us if you are interested or if you would like more information.

info@growingcommunityhealth.org

or
Mina Ramos - eramos@uoguelph.ca

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Growing-Community-Health-Group/385205848213992?ref=ts