Mother's Day is traditionally a time for celebration, but for many mothers working on farms in British Columbia, it can mean unpaid overtime, harsh physical labour, and conditions that leave them feeling disrespected. These women, many of whom are South Asian immigrants, often grow the flowers that fill hanging baskets purchased to honour mothers across the province.
Challenges of a Double Shift
The long, unpredictable, or inadequate hours worked by South Asian farm-worker women are made more challenging by a heavy "double shift" of paid labour combined with housework and child care. This takes a heavy toll on their physical and mental well-being.
Historical Context and Ongoing Vulnerabilities
Since the 1970s, when immigrants from India's Punjab region became a significant part of B.C.'s agricultural labour force, reports have documented the precariousness of their work. Their ability to act independently is often eroded by difficulty communicating in English, financial dependence on kin, and immigration status tied to a spouse or family.
Some farm-worker women are concentrated in piece-rate work, described as an "archaic system" with significant discrepancies from B.C.'s regular minimum wage. Many are subject to the Farm Labour Contracting (FLC) system, where the legal employer is a contractor. Despite regulation by B.C. labour laws, the FLC system has repeatedly led to exploitation, wage-withholding, and coercion to accept unsafe transportation.
Pervasive Health and Safety Risks
In the recent report Growing Justice: Health, Safety and Dignity for South Asian Farmworker Women in British Columbia, women interviewed expressed pride in undertaking physically arduous work for long hours without complaint, even though many reported bullying and harsh criticism from supervisors. B.C. agricultural workers are excluded from basic rights like statutory holiday and annual vacation pay. Since the late 2010s, B.C. ministries of agriculture and labour have acknowledged these vulnerabilities, but it is unclear whether commensurate improvements have been made.
Unsafe Conditions and Weak Enforcement
The report outlines pervasive health and safety risks, including a lack of clean, accessible washrooms, potable water, chronic and acute physical injuries, unsafe machinery, and retaliation for voicing safety concerns. These issues are intensified by weak enforcement and deceptive employer practices, such as temporarily installing handwashing stations during WorkSafeBC inspections only to remove them once inspectors leave.
South Asian farm-worker women who are new immigrants face additional vulnerabilities like language barriers and lack of formal job training. The people who harvest B.C.'s vegetables, grow ornamental flowers, and pack berries face low wages; most women interviewed earned less than $25,000 annually.
