"Stop the Blacklisting" demo outside Mexico Consulate in Vancouver
About a hundred community and labour activists recently gathered outside the Mexico Consulate in Vancouver with coffins, tombstones and crosses, along with a petition to "Stop the Blacklisting" of Mexico migrant workers in Canada by the Mexico government.
The midday protest comes in the wake of allegations that that the federal government of Mexico and its Vancouver consulate conspired with two British Columbia agriculture operations to blacklist certain Mexican seasonal migrant workers from returning to Canada ever again because they were union sympathizers. Workers have also been told to stop visiting support centres run by the union in British Columbia.
As onlookers gathered around the scene at the consulate, the protesters held a mock funeral for the rights of the workers who tried to exercise their basic human and labour rights to organize and bargain collectively.
The allegations and evidence regarding blacklisting and intimidation have been filed with the British Columbia Labour Relations Board (BCLRB) charges were filed by UFCW Canada Local 1518 ¨the union the migrant workers joined (for background see www.ufcw.ca/mexicocharges).
"Mexican workers in British Columbia have the same right as all other workers to join a union without fear of reprisal," says UFCW Canada Local 1518 President Ivan Limpright. "Mexico must respect that, as well as respect their citizens in Canada who work so hard and should not be punished for exercising their rights under the law."
The blacklisting charges will be heard by the BCLRB in February. The Government of Mexico and its consulate have claimed sovereign immunity, bluntly telling the BCLRB that the board does not have the authority to rule on how Mexico treats its citizens ¨in Mexico or in British Columbia.
"Mexican consulate officials in Vancouver better understand that Free Trade doesnŦ mean they are free to abuse the labour rights of their citizens working here", says Wayne Hanley, the National President of UFCW Canada. UFCW Canada is Canada's largest private-sector trade union, and in association with the Agriculture Workers Alliance (AWA) operates 10 centres across Canada to assist migrant agriculture workers.
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UFCW Canada is Canada's largest private sector union with more than 250,000 members across the country working in almost every sector of the food industry from field to table. UFCW Canada in association with the Agriculture Workers Alliance (AWA) (www.awa-ata.ca) also operates ten agriculture workers support and advocacy centres across Canada, which have provided assistance to thousands of workers since the first centre opened its doors in 2002.
UFCW Canadá es el sindicato Canadiense más grande del sector privado con más de 250,000 miembros en todo el país trabajando en cada sector de la industria alimenticia desde el campo a la mesa. La UFCW Canadá en asociación con la Alianza para los Trabajadores Agrícolas (AWA) (www.awa-ata.ca) también opera diez centros de apoyo y de defensa a través de Canadá, los mismos que han proporcionado asistencia a decenas de miles de trabajadores desde que el primer centro abrió sus puertas en el año 2002.