President of the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions Helene Davis Whyte has been appointed to lead a seven-member fact-finding team, to conduct investigations into the working conditions experienced by Jamaicans employed on the Canadian Seasonal Agricultural Workers Programme.
The team will conduct a two week probe.
The other members of the team are Danny Roberts, Deputy Chairman of the Industrial Disputes Tribunal, Wayne Chen, President of the Caribbean Employers Federation; Rayhmond Eytle, 2nd Vice President, Jamaica Employers' Federation; Wayne Jones, Deputy Financial Secretary; Sidia Madden, Chief Internal Auditor in the Ministry of Labour & Social Security; and Community Development Specialist Kandre Leveridge.
A statement from the Ministry of Labour & Social Security says the fact finding team will conduct its probe from a random selection of Canadian farms across all provinces in which Jamaicans are employed.
It will collect data on the working conditions and interview workers who have been injured, to assess the level of care and responsiveness to their needs by the Jamaica Liaison Service in Canada and the Ministry of Labour & Social Security.
The team will also speak to employers and other interested groups in Canada. It will provide a report outlining the team's findings, with recommendations to improve the Jamaican Overseas Employment Programme in Canada.
The report will be presented to Cabinet and tabled in Parliament.
