UFCW Canada is voice for workers at annual SAWP evaluation meetings in historic first

Mexico City, Mexico – December 13, 2023 – In an historic first, UFCW Canada was the first union as a voice for the workers invited to join the annual Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) review meetings between the governments of Canada and Mexico.

These meetings occur annually between the governments of Canada and Mexico. The purpose of the meeting is to evaluate the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program. This year, for the first time since the SAWP began, UFCW Canada was invited to participate in the meetings as a voice for the work. This was the result of years of activism on the workers’ behalf.

In previous years, only representatives of the two countries’ respective governments and industry, including recruiters are invited to participate in the meetings. The lack of having workers’ voices heard during these proceedings left loopholes in the program that leave it open to abuse, exploitation, and institutionalized trafficking.

Earlier this fall, UFCW Canada held a press conference in Mexico City along with the Mexican Chamber of Deputies (Cámara de Diputados) calling for workers and their unions to have input in the Seasonal Agricultural Worker meetings. The Mexican and Canadian governments listened, and, for the first time, invited a union to the table. 

“The voice of the workers has to be at the centre of any decisions made about these programs,” says UFCW Canada’s Pablo Godoy. “It is their lives, their livelihood, and for too long, governments have not been listening to their voices. We welcome the opportunity to be at the table to advocate for workers.”

For more than three decades, UFCW has led the fight for migrant workers’ rights in Canada. In collaboration with the Agriculture Workers Alliance (AWA), UFCW Canada operates a national, on-the-ground network of Worker Support Centres with staff and volunteers helping thousands of migrant workers navigate and enforce their limited rights and entitlements, as well as providing health and safety and “know your rights” training. To learn more about this important work, click here.