by Gwendolyn Longid (Cordillera People’s Alliance) – 9 September, 2011
Defying the approaching Typhoon Mina on August 26th, a dozen community activists and grassroots journalists from the Sagada region of Mountain Province in the Cordillera, Philippines came together for a day-long seminar on the foundations of community radio broadcasting. The workshop was attended by members of the Sagada Environmental Guides Association (SEGA), Sagada Genuine Guides Association (SAGGAS), the Cordillera Highland Agricultural Resource Management Program (CHARMP), the Montañosa Research and Development Center (MRDC), and the Cordillera Disaster Response and Development Services (CorDis RDS), along with Radyo Sagada staff and volunteers. The activity was conducted through the initiative of Cordillera Peoples Alliance of Mountain Province and CorDis RDS, and was facilitated by Steve Da Silva of BASICS Community News Service, a people’s media organization from Canada that has a radio program on CHRY 105.5. in Toronto, Ontario, along with a regularly produced newspaper. BASICS carried out the workshop as part of a project of their own known as the School of People’s Journalism.
The day-long seminar was geared towards providing basic skills in community broadcasting for the various sectors and organizations in Sagada. The day’s activities covered technical aspects as well as the principles of community radio, with an emphasis on what distinguishes a people’s media organization from commercial radio. Da Silva from BASICS stressed that “a community media organization that doesn’t recognize that its heart and soul is the community – is the people – will very quickly find itself looking like commercial radio or dying out. If the corporate media served the people’s true interests and addressed their needs, then we wouldn’t need to create a people’s media apparatus.”
The participants engaged in various worshops and formats throughout the day. Gareth Likigan and Ben Calpi of SAGGAS role-played a mock interview with a student who does part time work as a tourist guide to meet ends meet. Others simulated a round table discussion focused on Sagada as a tourist hotspot. Brenda and Gaodan Angway of SEGA did a review on Sagada culture done by Brenda of Radyo Sagada and Gaodan Angway of SEGA. All participants were challenged in the art of improvisation – such as through simulated phone-in questions – a feature of radio broadcasting that sets it apart from other forms of media.
Through the activity, the organizers hoped to encourage more organizations to take on time slots at the recently formed Radyo Sagada station. The SAGGAS intend to have a radio show which delves on environmental issues. The SEGA has so far shared in the weekly program on solid waste management and regular volunteer work as anchor and newscasters at the radio.
Steve da Silva of BASICS Community News Service spent over a month in Mountain Province researching people’s struggles and indigenous struggles for self-determination against foreign mining companies and militarization. Da Silva, who was in the Philippines for the 4th International Assembly of the International League of People’s Struggles in Manila in early July, also joined Radyo Sagada for a series of interviews discussing some of the links between Canadian imperialism and the Philippines. From August 23-25, da Silva joined hosts Ma Karl, Habibi, and others for a series of back-to-back-to-back interviews, one on Canada’s notorious record of genocidal policies towards indigenous peoples in Canada, which continue up to the present day. “If the Canadian state can carry out a genocide of indigenous peoples in the present day right in its own country, then how do you think Canada is going to operate abroad when it confronts other indigenous or colonized peoples, such as the Igorot people here in the Cordillera.” Another discussion dealt with the widespread human rights violations associated with the overseas operation of Canadian mining companies, which also operate in the Cordillera, such the corporation Ivanhoe, which is heavily invested in Benguet-based Lepanto Mining.
On the final day, the interview covered the links between Canadian ‘development’ aggression around the world and the migrant worker programs in Canada that so many Filipinos and others around the world are trying to get in to. The conversation drew attention to how the policies of neoliberal globalization which displace peoples from their homelands create large pools of cheap labour for imperialist countries like Canada. The programs discussed included Canada’s Live-In Caregivers, the Seasonal Agriculatural Workers, and Temporary Foreign Workers.
The torrential rains that began to fall at the day’s end did not put a damper on the event, which ended on a high note with a lively discussion on the challenges but necessity of building a genuine community media organization from the ground up and through the people.
Writing and researching for BASICS Community News Service while in Mountain Province, Steve da Silva has a number of pieces coming out on the Cordillera that will be published at www.basicsnews.ca throughout the month of September 2011.
By Barrio Nuevo
Tomatoes are one of the most commonly consumed fruits in the world. However, when we buy them, do we consider how they get to our local market? This is the main question behind the Centre for Spanish Speaking People’s ‘El T.O.mate’ project.
The project works with a group of newcomer and marginalized youth examining the practices of agricultural production in Ontario and promoting local food production. Although tomatoes are grown within Ontario, Canada imports a considerable amount from places as far away as California and the Netherlands meaning that many tomatoes consumed have a considerable carbon footprint due to the transportation involved. The youth have not only been learning how to grow food in urban settings, but they have also assisted in facilitating gardening workshops and distributed over 100 tomato plants and seeds to tenants and others.
Moreover, the youth have also been learning about another important aspect of agriculture in Canada – migrant workers. Every year, hundreds of thousands of workers from
the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico come to Canada through temporary worker programs in order to pick the fruits and vegetables grown on farms in Canada. Aside from the low wages and hard labor that many of these workers are subjected to, many of these workers are subjected to inhumane work and living conditions and are deprived of many of the rights that Canadian workers have.
“While the main aspect of this program has involved learning about, teaching and promoting urban agriculture as a way that anyone can contribute to reducing carbon emissions, we felt that it was very important to also show how most food is actually grown in the province” said Santiago Escobar, Project Coordinator.
In conjuction with the United Food and Commercial Workers and Dignidad Obrera Agricola Migrant (DOAM), the project has brought youth to meet with migrant workers and see their working and living situations. The project received partial funds from the Livegreen Toronto fund, which is also one of the grants that Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is looking to cut as part of their proposed cuts and privatization package.
For more information contact Santiago Escobar at green@spanishservices
By SK & MB
UFCW investigation team
In the capitalist system labour is viewed as yet another commodity that can be traded and exploited. Wages are paid for labour-power and hours worked but in some circumstances, like the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SWAP), contracted wage agreements and working conditions are not a guarantee.
As participants in UFCW Canada’s Youth Internship Program we were part of a contingent who went to Simcoe, Ontario to learn more about the SAWP. We visited farms, talked to workers and farm owners, with an objective of investigating the issues and introducing workers to the Agricultural Workers Alliance (AWA) action centre in Simcoe.
As a union contingent we organized a BBQ to celebrate the workers struggles and get more information into the hardships of the work, abuses in the SAWP program and generally agitate workers to organize themselves and talk about their working-conditions. We wanted to highlight workers’ value to the region, and to bridge the gap between the migrant workers and the larger community. The information in this article is based on our investigations.
Some of the issues we uncovered while visiting workers at their homes, meeting them in the community and visiting their workplaces are how employer friendly the program is. Some of the daily abuses include:
workers being frequently repatriated for demanding their rights. No enforced third-party regulatory system for health, safety, and labour regulations. Workers pay their employers rent for housing that is usually substandard and overcrowded.
Stories from the workers we met show that we cannot depend on individual farm owners to ‘do the right thing.’ We need to create a system of fairness where standards are regulated and monitored. Migrant workers are not familiar with Canadian laws and are given no paths to educate themselves. Through investigation, we discovered many workers who took home only $5 of the $10.25 per hour they are told they will receive.
Furthermore, many of the Latin American workers are not fully confident in the English language which means they can’t read WSIB and caution signs in their workplaces. It requires a huge effort for them to educate themselves on the rules, regulations and rights of agricultural workers in Canada.
When a worker attempts to educate themselves, or inquires about the many deductions on their paychecks, they are putting their jobs at risk. When workers turn to organizations that will assist them with their issues consulates from countries like Jamaica and Mexico often warn workers that the people at the Agricultural Workers Alliance (AWA) are dangerous and only intend to take their money. In reality the AWA helps workers apply for the benefits they contribute to and also assists the workers with ESL courses so they can better understand their rights. This program is further evidence of the growing systemic pattern where the race to the bottom is both legislated and supported by governments. Workers are easily replaced by the millions of other workers all over the world who are just waiting to be picked, and are just as quickly disposed of. If an individual proves to be vocal, entitled, or motivated they are easily replaced and forgotten.
The union compares the SAWP to the indentured labour practices of the 19th century but even worse in this program there is no pathway to citizenship. Agricultural work is not valued by the Canadian immigration system and when workers in the program apply to immigrate they find that the point system values education, and capital for investment, not the time and sacrifice farm workers have already made. The fight against the current SAWP program is a fight for good jobs and for sustainable communities. There are organizations fighting to improve standards and to eliminate the systemic circumstances that allow violations to occur.
Good jobs in sustainable communities that respect workers are rare in most sectors and employees must race to the bottom simply to ensure they are employed and hopefully in a slightly better financial situation. Organizations like SAME (Students Against Migrant Exploitations), AWA (Agricultural Workers Alliance), Migrante, and the Workers Action Centre are all part of this battle for improved standards. We encourage you to find out more about these organizations and assist them in their struggles for justice.
by Kabir Joshi-Vijayan, Steve da Silva, and Malcolm Guy
Toronto, Ontario, May 21, 2011 — Seventy delegates and observers representing nearly two dozen organizations from across Canada came together to launch the Canadian chapter of the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS). Taking place at the Centre for Spanish Speaking People in Toronto, delegates from Montreal, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Ottawa and Toronto held a daylong conference to discuss future campaigns of the ILPS, finalize a constitution, and elect delegates to a Coordinating Committee.
It was a major step forward for anti-imperialist unity in Canada in the midst of growing popular struggles around the globe from North Africa to the Middle East and from India to the Philippines and beyond and in the face of an aggressive and war-mongering new majority Conservative government at home, the opening declaration stated. Read more…
By Meg M.
On February 27, 2011 Women United Against Imperialism (WUAI) hosted the community forum Confronting Precarious Work in the Era of Imperialism to educate and organize around the theme of precarious work for the upcoming International Women’s Day events that took place in early March.
Petrolina Cleto began the forum by sharing her poem titled “A Place” with the group. Her words set the tone for the discussion ahead; about the sacrifices women make under global imperialism, as they migrate to foreign places for their families’ survival and the love behind migrant women’s work. Cleto explained, “working with the community of women migrant workers in Toronto has deepened my understanding of forced migration and the effects of imperialism on the majority of women in the world today. I now clearly see their courage. I also see what is often taken for granted… the great love with which they do their sacrifices, is also what they give to the people they work for.”
The following speaker, Brigitte Dang-ay, shared with the group that she arrived in Canada in 2006. She has since been separated from her four children in the Philippines while caring for Canadian families as a temporary foreign worker under Canada’s Live-In Caregiver Program (LCP). LCP caregivers are required to complete 24 months of documented, full-time, live-in domestic work within four years of arrival in Canada. On completion of this requirement they become eligible to apply as permanent residents to Canada. Although it takes great courage for caregivers under the LCP to speak out on the vulnerabilities they face at work due to their precarious migration status, Dang-ay gave voice to the difficulties many women migrant workers experience and presented a powerful account of the impact of global imperialism on her life. Read more…
By Justicia 4 Migrant Workers
“No work, no pay, I fed up of the broken promises, and I don’t work for no one for free!!!”
Over a hundred migrant workers employed under the auspices of the Canadian Seasonal Agricultural Workers program (CSAWP) were recently deported for demanding thousands of dollars in back wages.
The migrant workers had not been paid for several weeks. Meanwhile, the employer kept telling its workers that their pay was coming and that they should continue to work.
As the employer continued to break its promises, the solidarity between Mexican, Trinidadian, Barbadian, and Jamaican workers strengthened and they began a wildcat strike in November 2010. Read more…
JOIN & SUPPORT WE ARE JOSE www.wearejose.com - JAN.16 2011
Vancouver, January 2nd, 2011. People from all walks of life and community-based organizations are joining forces to reverse the deportation order against José Figueroa and his family and are making a call to all to join the WE ARE JOSE campaign. Several initiatives are being organized for the WE ARE JOSE Campaign held across several Canadians cities on January 16th, 2011. Visit www.wearejose.com for more information.
WE ARE JOSE supporters believe that the Canadian government’s decision to deport José is a mistake and that this error impacts not only Jose and his family but also puts many Canadians of Salvadorean origin at risk of deportation. The campaign requests that the Canadian government, in particular the Minister of Public Safety, Vic Toews, respond to the demand to grant José an exemption by January 16th declaring him no threat to national security, in honour of the Salvadorean Peace Agreement and as a reminder to Canadians that our country played a key role in putting an end to El Salvador’s bloody 12-year civil war. Read more…
Fiorillo Glavin Gordon & Kestrel Workplace Legal Counsel – Monday, January 11, 2011
Vancouver – A $10 million class action lawsuit has been filed against Denny’s Restaurants in BC by law firms acting on behalf of more than 50 foreign workers who allege their employment contracts have been breached.
Lawyers Charles Gordon and Christopher Foy filed the lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court against Northland Properties Corporation – doing business as Denny’s Restaurants – and Dencan Restaurants Inc., the companies that run Denny’s Restaurants in British Columbia for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, breach of good faith and fair dealing and breach of fiduciary duty with respect to their employees hired through the Canadian Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Read more…
While many families are busy preparing for Christmas, three migrant workers known as Three Amigos (or the Three Fathers) are busy preparing their documents for their immigration hearing and steeling themselves for the worse possible scenario, which could be deportation orders.
In the past weeks, the Canadian public has heard and read about the plight of Antonio Laroya, Arnisito Gaviola and Ermie Zotomayor. The three migrant workers from the Philippines who came to Canada under the Temporary Foreign Workers Program were arrested for violation of work permit restrictions. The news of the decision to remove them from Canada saddens the three fathers, as well as the community and migrant advocates who have indefatigably worked to ask the Minister of Immigration, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney that they be allowed to stay in Canada.
Migrante Canada, a Canada-wide alliance of 16 migrant organizations from British Columbia to the Atlantic Region, expresses its support and sympathy to Antonio, Arnisito and Ermie and their respective families. We know that they want to stay here and be allowed to work so they can provide for their families back home. Their struggle to stay is similar to the struggle of numerous migrant workers who have no pathway to become permanent residents in Canada. Under the present immigration system, there is no available recourse for these three men but to appeal to Immigration Minister Kenney and hope they be allowed to stay under humanitarian and compassionate grounds. Their lawyer, Nobel Peace Price nominee David Matas, has told them to apply for “restoration of status” and “temporary residence” permits that would allow them to work in Canada. Migrante Canada hopes that this option is seriously considered and given to the three migrant workers. Read more…
By R. Sanchez – basicsnews ONLINE – December 2010
The world was forced to take notice of the plight Central and South American migrants must face as they travel through Mexico, when a massacre of 72 people by narco-trafficing gangs was brought to light by some of the few survivors. Sadly, this is but one example of the hundreds, if not thousands, of deaths of migrants making their way to North America, not to mention the assaults, kidnapping, rape, and forced labour they must also endure. Read more…
