Improving health, safety and housing conditions of Mexican farm workers in BC: a farmer’s perspective

This project investigates barriers to effective fulfilment of Occupational Health and Safety and Housing regulations by British Columbian farmers hiring seasonal agricultural workers. I survey the existing literature and conduct a survey among a small sample of BC farmers and find the major barriers to fulfilment of Occupational Health and Safety regulations are lack of information about the training resources, language barriers and the time constraint during harvesting season. Similarly, I find the high cost and limited availability of accommodations as the main obstacles to fulfilling housing requirements. The analysis of case studies in the United States shows how they have addressed similar obstacles for their large population of migrant farm workers. Using these findings, I propose policy alternatives that address Occupational Health and Safety and the housing needs of Seasonal Agricultural Workers in BC. After evaluating these alternatives based on a set of criteria, this study provides final recommendations.