British Columbia Federation of Labour

Vancouver—The tragic highway accident that killed three farm workers and injured five others earlier today highlights the need for improved safety laws for BC farm workers says Jim Sinclair, President of the B.C. Federation of Labour.

Early reports indicate today’s accident involved a van carrying more farm workers than capacity allowed. As well, reports state that seats in the van had been removed and replaced by wooden benches.

"We’ve seen too many accidents like today’s. Again and again, we learn we need more inspections and better enforcement of safety laws," Sinclair said.

"Instead of action, the BC Liberal government used their first term to water down standards protecting working conditions and scrapped the inter-agency inspection team needed to effectively crack down on bad employers in this industry," said Sinclair.

"The provincial government must act now, before another accident, to step up inspection and enforcement and take immediate steps to improve worker safety," Sinclair added.

The B.C. Federation of Labour has repeatedly called for improvements to working conditions for farm workers, including:

• Immediately implement an inter-agency team, including WCB, RCMP, HRDC, and the Motor Vehicle Branch, to ensure responsibility for enforcement is clearly delineated and acted upon.

• Restore and increase roadside spot checks of vehicles transporting farm workers, aggressively pursuing overcrowding, lack of seatbelts and the mechanical conditions of vehicles.

• Ensure farm workers receive the same protection under the Employment Standards Act as other workers, including overtime and statutory holiday pay, and access to a complaints process.

• Restore Employment Standards staffing levels to ensure a basic level of enforcement of employers is required.

Download the B.C. Federation of Labour’s 2004 Report on working conditions for farm workers in the Fraser Valley.

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For more information contact: Jessie Uppal 604-430-1421 or 604-220-0739.