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+--- Thread: 288 Jamaicans arrived in ... (/showthread.php?tid=102722)
288 Jamaicans arrived in ... - oldtimer - 04-17-2020
Nova Scotia yesterday . They are farm workers and will be paid for the 2 weeks they must stay in quarintine .3 cheers for Nova Scotia !!!!
RE: 288 Jamaicans arrived in ... - CardBoardBox - 04-18-2020
First reaction - it is great to have a solution which works for all.
2nd reaction - a joke about how long they had to paddle to get there, or maybe that folk in NS only know how to fish. Nah.
3rd - a more complete solution is if they could sew masks for 2 weeks, but I'd be happy if they did some book learning (not implying they need it)
RE: 288 Jamaicans arrived in ... - kylake - 04-18-2020
I had no idea farmer workers in NS were coming from Jamaica. Kudo to Canada and NS for having a plan in place and paying for the quarantine time. Hopefully in the US there will also be a plan like this when the time comes.
RE: 288 Jamaicans arrived in ... - oldtimer - 04-18-2020
They have been coming here for years . They have a tough restrictions on them now . Too many run away . They only get 1/3 of their pay here . The other 2/3rds is sent to the agriculture dept in Jamaica and baby mother's get 1st crack at it .They use to have 20 year old kids come with 6-8 kids with equal number of baby mothers . That has stopped .They have great workers now . Before they would be here 6 months and go home empty handed . They make $12.50/hr plus living allowance .April through to November .6 days a week 10 hours a day . They get a bonus after 44 hours .
RE: 288 Jamaicans arrived in ... - Tim - 04-18-2020
Is there a shortage of workers in Nova Scotia? Why wouldn't they hire Canadians?
When you say they get a "bonus" after 44 hours what exactly does that mean?
RE: 288 Jamaicans arrived in ... - oldtimer - 04-18-2020
It does mean no Canadians want the job .The people " in " will get housing and Nova Scotians will not , that is the problem . After 44 hours it goes to time and a half . It's a way that all workers are payed .
RE: 288 Jamaicans arrived in ... - kylake - 04-18-2020
Quote:Tim wrote: Is there a shortage of workers in Nova Scotia? Why wouldn't they hire Canadians?Not sure where you are from but hard manual agricultural work is not something most folks want. They (white folks) didn't in the colonial days and they don't now. I did it as a kid (US) but you cannot find a kid or adult that wants to do it now. If they do, it is first paycheck and they quit, because the work is so demanding.
If it was not for immigrants the work would go undone and crops would either not be planted or spoil in the fields from lack of harvest. To the best of my knowledge it has been like this everywhere US and Canada for decades.
RE: 288 Jamaicans arrived in ... - Tim - 04-19-2020
(04-18-2020, 03:23 PM)double trouble ot Wrote: It does mean no Canadians want the job .The people " in " will get housing and Nova Scotians will not , that is the problem . After 44 hours it goes to time and a half . It's a way that all workers are payed .
I can somewhat understand people not wanting to do back breaking long hours work for minimum wage. Perhaps paying a bit better would encourage more local applicants.
It's a bit ironic the Canadian govt is paying people that same $12.50/hr to stay home, while bringing in foreign workers.
So the "bonus" after 44 hours isn't actually a bonus, it's just what the labor laws call for. That is why I asked. In my province OT must be paid after 40 hours.
I worked for a company that did large scale commercial plumbing and hvac installations. Most of the years we received actual bonuses, a few years almost $5000 - paid at Christmas. When work slowed down those disappeared. My last "bonus" from them was $100.
RE: 288 Jamaicans arrived in ... - Tim - 04-19-2020
(04-18-2020, 06:15 PM)kylake Wrote:Quote:Tim wrote: Is there a shortage of workers in Nova Scotia? Why wouldn't they hire Canadians?Not sure where you are from but hard manual agricultural work is not something most folks want. They (white folks) didn't in the colonial days and they don't now. I did it as a kid (US) but you cannot find a kid or adult that wants to do it now. If they do, it is first paycheck and they quit, because the work is so demanding.
If it was not for immigrants the work would go undone and crops would either not be planted or spoil in the fields from lack of harvest. To the best of my knowledge it has been like this everywhere US and Canada for decades.
Well I live in Saskatchewan, at the risk of sounding stereotypical as an American you may not have a clue where that is - or what it's like. My province has the largest amount of seeded farmland by FAR in Canada. My wifes parents harvest over 5000 acres every year. It's obviously different than hand seeding, harvesting; but long shitty hours for sure. They hire farm help every year but they pay a lot more than $12.50/hr, but they also need experience operating equipment.
RE: 288 Jamaicans arrived in ... - oldtimer - 04-19-2020
Thats the place to go .