Our guest Zoom speaker on Friday, May 6th was Hugo Velazquez, Senior Manager of the Community Outreach, Advocacy and Migrant Worker Programs at MOSAIC.
Hugo’s program assists migrant workers in cases of abuse, medical and dental issues, substandard housing and overcrowding. His talk was eye-opening and compelling.
This program began out of a presentation to various government ministers and resulted in the creation of 22 agencies funded by Service Canada, the Law Foundation and other organizations.
The funds provided cover many of the needs of migrant workers however some key areas are unaddressed. For instance: MOSIAC found a number of Vietnamese workers being abused and evacuated them. While those workers applied for permission to stay, which took time, their wages, medical coverage and food were not covered. Then the floods happened in the valley adding crisis to crisis.
MOSAIC identified 150 workers in great distress as a result of the floods. Often they needed help with wages as, if the job stops, it takes a long time to apply for EI and the forms can be confusing. They're also lacking funds to get them through the day. Often MOSAIC staff pay for things out of their own pocket. Hugo says he has to tell his staff to stop working at times, they’ve so devoted and are so affected by what they see.
These workers are essential to our economy, they do work Canadians won’t or can’t do. Hugo cautioned that when you go to an Okanagan wine tasting you’re not seeing what’s going on behind the scenes.
When workers need legal help due to employer abuse they need legal counsel. Hugo hopes to be able to hire a lawyer to assist with these issues.
MOSAIC has brought bad housing down from 70% to 40% but it’s still not enough. Sometimes the conditions are terrible – workers sleeping on the floor. A video setting out the need for a Migrant Workers Emergency Fund is at https://youtu.be/KGUdClnmCWI.
They get calls every day from workers, 6,000 arrive in BC each year and Hugo estimates they get 30,000 requests for assistance annually. Despite this they’re aware that many don’t complain due to language and cultural differences. Often farm work is very remote, plus they’re staying only a relatively short time, which complicates things.
On the positive side, Worksafe BC and the Firefighters have been very helpful. They also received a $50,000.00 donation from CLAC (CLAC | Better Together).
Hugo suggests we might establish a Rotary Emergency Response Fund, which could include other Rotary clubs in the area. We could also advocate on behalf of the Migrant Workers Emergency Fund.
The CLAC foundation will match any other donations made before the end of June, which is something to keep in mind re any contribution we make. If you’d like to donate as individual, you can do so at Migrant Workers Emergency Fund.
Hugo is also working toward obtaining funding for newcomers with disabilities. He feels with climate change and COVID these issues will be big.