Guest worker program in canada

This would be the third year he's worked legally in Canada's broccoli fields. Before that, he says he would sneak into the U.

We would have to hike over mountains, cross at night in the cold. It would take 10 days and cost thousands of dollars," Corona says. I really like this program. In Canada, Corona works 14 hours a day, six days a week. Mexico has sent workers to Canada for nearly four decades. Bianca Garcia, who administers the program for the state of Puebla, says it's a win-win for both countries.

She says Mexican workers are poor, with few job prospects at home. And in Canada, farmers need workers. Mexico sends about 17, workers a year to Canada. Garcia says every year she turns away applicants.

Those who do get a chance to go almost always come back home. The Mexican government closely screens applicants — mostly men between the ages of 22 and 40, with small children at home. Farmers have advocated for such a guest-worker program for years in the U. Manuel Cunha, who heads a growers group in California, says the current U. He says many aspects of the Canadian program could be a model for U. Farmworker advocates aren't as convinced. Erik Nicholson, a vice president of the United Farm Workers of America, says that in Canada, Mexican guest workers are tied to one employer.

If the worker complains, the employer just sends him back home. At the Puebla state employment office, Marcelo Ramirez Garcia says he's anxious to get all his paperwork done and return to Canada. It works in four phases: 1 employers indicate their need for workers and submit a recruitment plan; 2 applicants are recruited, evaluated, provided consular services a Canadian visa and medical exams, given a pre-departure orientation about security and finances, and assisted at the airport; 3 guest workers arrive and are integrated into the labor force in Canada; and 4 guest workers return to Guatemala.

Phase 2 takes about eight weeks. The program has been a success for employers and workers. In , the Guatemalan government opened a Consulate General in Montreal, in order to monitor the well-being of Guatemalan temporary workers. Only a limited number of labor complaints have been lodged since its inception.

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