workers Archives | Alberta Farmer Express

File photo of a New Brunswick blueberry field in autumn. (EdCorey/iStock/Getty Images)

New Brunswick ag groups rip province’s ban on foreign workers

Risk during pandemic 'simply too great,' premier says

New Brunswick farmers who employ temporary foreign workers (TFWs) are calling for the provincial government to reverse its new COVID-19-related ban on entry of TFWs who haven’t yet arrived. The provincial government on Tuesday updated a mandatory order under its pandemic state of emergency to restrict TFWs from entering the province. The new restriction doesn’t […] Read more

Beef Cattle, Livestock, Reuters

COVID-19 surges at reopened JBS Colorado beef plant, union says

A sixth worker has died, UFCW local chief says

By Reuters, GFM Network News April 30, 2020

Chicago | Reuters — COVID-19 cases at a JBS meatpacking plant in Colorado have more than doubled “in a number of days” and a sixth employee died of the virus, a union official said on Thursday, underscoring the risks of U.S. meat plants reopening. The beef plant at Greeley, about 65 km north of Denver, […] Read more

(Deyana Robova photo/iStock/Getty Images)

Hogs, Livestock, Markets, Reuters

Smithfield to close Illinois pork facility

Workers test positive for COVID-19

By Reuters, GFM Network News April 25, 2020

Reuters — World’s largest pork processor Smithfield Foods said Friday it will suspend operations at its Monmouth, Illinois pork processing facility next week after some employees tested positive for COVID-19, adding to already strained U.S. meat supplies. The news of some of the company’s 1,700 employees at the plant testing positive comes a day after […] Read more

General

Farmers to know soon whether new wage supports work for them

Top-up also en route for low-wage essential workers; CERB also tweaked

By D.C. Fraser, GFM Network News April 16, 2020

Ottawa — Agricultural employers may soon find out whether changes to the Canada Summer Jobs program, and other new federal supports on the way, will result in more workers for the sector. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Wednesday said officials are reviewing requests from employers to see which ones will qualify to have 100 […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canola Council of Canada)

General

Farming deemed essential in new federal pandemic guidance

Food production and supporting industries amid 'critical infrastructure'

By GFM Staff, GFM Network News April 2, 2020

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

An idle CN train is parked next to an empty Via Rail commuter station at Trenton, Ont. on Feb. 25, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Chris Helgren)

Crops, Reuters

CN starts calling back laid-off employees

"Network recovery... will take several weeks"

By Allison Lampert, GFM Network News February 29, 2020

Montreal | Reuters — Canadian National Railway has started calling back many of the 450 workers it laid off earlier this month in Eastern Canada, when blockades crippled operations on strategic rail lines, according to a company email sent to customers Friday. Earlier this week, police made 10 arrests and cleared a blockade in eastern […] Read more

News

Workplace hotline now available for Alberta producers

By Alberta Farmer Staff July 9, 2019

Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta producers can now get immediate support if there’s a workplace safety incident on their farm or ranch. AgSafe Alberta, an industry-led collaboration of farm groups, has set up and will operate a hotline that farmers can call at any time. The number is 1-833-9AG-SAFE (1-833-924-7233). “This hotline is available 24-7, year round and all […] Read more

General, Markets, Reuters

Farm labour shortage seen costing billions, expected to rise

By Reuters June 25, 2019

Ottawa | Reuters — Canada’s farm labour deficit is expected to double by 2029 to 123,000 workers, or one in three jobs, as shortages continue to hit the sector’s bottom line, the Canadian Agriculture Human Resource Council said on Tuesday. Farmers in Canada have long reported challenges in recruiting farm workers because the rural-based work […] Read more

General, Markets, Reuters

Sharp differences over labour surface at NAFTA trade talks

By Dave Graham, Sharay Angulo September 4, 2017

Mexico City | Reuters — Tensions over sharp differences in pay between Mexican workers and their Canadian and U.S. counterparts surfaced on Sunday as negotiators discussed labour market rules in talks to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement. Canada’s biggest private-sector union said NAFTA should be scrapped if Mexico cannot agree to better labour […] Read more

News

Mark Chambers new co-chair of labour task force

By Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council June 29, 2015

Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta’s Mark Chambers has been elected the new co-chair of the Agriculture and Agri-Food Labour Task Force. The task force is developing an action plan to tackle industry labour shortages, an initiative of the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council with support from more than 60 partner organizations. “The agriculture industry needs more workers,” said Chambers, […] Read more

Canada left with very tight canola, barley stocks

U.S. grains: Corn, soy futures hit multi-year highs on supply fears

U.S. livestock: CME cattle futures up on beef prices, demand

GFM Network News