Job vacancies in food and beverage manufacturing fell to 2019 levels this year, but softening demand for workers isn’t necessarily a positive sign says Farm Credit Canada.
Food and beverage sector sees softening demand for workers
Canada’s jobs growth stalls in December as wages accelerate
Declines in goods sector driven by job losses in manufacturing, construction and agriculture
Canada's economy added far fewer jobs than expected in December and the jobless rate remained at 5.8 per cent, but permanent employees' wages increased at the fastest pace in three years, data showed on Friday.
Olymel bacon plant deal a ‘signal,’ union says
Deal ends three-week strike at Drummondville
Unionized workers at Olymel’s bacon processing plant at Drummondville, Que. have voted to accept a four-year deal, ending a three-week strike and serving as a “signal” to employers in the region, their union said. Olymel announced Friday that CSN-represented workers at the Bacon Inter-America facility, who’d been on strike since May 26, voted 93.6 per […] Read more
Elevators hope mandatory vaccination doesn’t disrupt operations
New regulations will require all federally regulated employees to comply early in 2022
Canada’s major companies hope their operations won’t be disrupted when Ottawa requires federally regulated employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 starting early in 2022. “It depends on whether employees that aren’t vaccinated will get vaccinated, or would they leave their jobs,” Wade Sobkowich, executive director of the Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA) said in an interview […] Read more
Canada sees no beef shortage, but prices may rise due to coronavirus
JBS plant at Brooks dials back to one shift
Ottawa/Winnipeg | Reuters –– The Canadian government is not expecting a beef shortage despite the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus in certain meat-packing plants, though prices may rise, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday. Trudeau added that beef producers are placing a priority on supplying the Canadian market before exporting products. Canada, one of […] Read more
Increased federal support for TFWs welcomed
Ottawa — The Canadian Horticultural Council says Monday’s federal announcement offering $50 million to help cover the extra costs associated with importing foreign workers this year is welcomed support. “We are finding that there are a lot of increased costs this year with COVID-19 and bringing in the employees, so having the extra money will […] Read more
‘Elbow to elbow:’ North America’s meat plant workers fall ill, walk off jobs
Supply chains struggling to keep pace with surging demand
Chicago/Winnipeg | Reuters — At a Wayne Farms chicken processing plant in Alabama, workers recently had to pay the company 10 U.S. cents a day to buy masks to protect themselves from the COVID-19 coronavirus, according to a meat inspector. In Colorado, nearly a third of the workers at a JBS USA beef plant stayed […] Read more
Federal government to backstop TFW isolation with funding
Employers backed to provide mandatory two-week isolation
Farming and agrifood employers bringing temporary foreign workers (TFWs) to Canada will get per-worker support to make sure those employees can self-isolate for 14 days on arrival. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Monday announced up to $50 million for such employers to put such measures in place. As part of its response to the COVID-19 […] Read more
Smithfield shuts South Dakota pork plant over COVID-19
Chicago | Reuters — Smithfield Foods, the world’s biggest pork processor, is temporarily closing a massive plant at Sioux Falls, S.D., the company said Thursday, after more than 80 workers there tested positive for coronavirus. The shutdown is the latest disruption to the U.S. food supply chain from the pandemic and comes as grocery store […] Read more
Farming deemed essential in new federal pandemic guidance
Food production and supporting industries amid 'critical infrastructure'
Workers in agriculture and supporting industries are on a new federal guidance list of employees considered “essential to maintain the health, safety, security and economic well-being of Canadians” amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Federal Public Safety Minister Bill Blair on Thursday released a new guidance document, “Guidance on Essential Services and Functions in Canada During the […] Read more
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