After watching the film last Thursday on Mexican workers coming to Canada for work in the tomato industry in Ontario, it opened my eyes to things in which I didn't know actually occurred in Canada. I was aware that there are immigrants who come to Canada to work and finds jobs so that they can support there family who live in Mexico for the example of this film. The things that I didn't know is how these people were treated while being here. From my experience as being a Canadian citizen I am not use to seeing people being treated unfairly in the work force and being abused to the extent in which these workers were. I actually didn't really know that it occurred in Canada to begin with. These workers were forced to work 7 days a week and over 12 hours a day for the period that they were there and given very minimal compensation for all this work. the pay was just of 7$ an hour, with no time for vacation or anything. If a worker was sick they were not paid either. This was hard to hear considering that these Mexican employees were forced to pay full taxes while working in Canada and not receiving any benefits in return. Also when I saw the place in which they had to live it was shocking to me. there were about 7 fully grown Mexican men live on small little single bed mattress's all in the same room. this room was not big either thee beds were practically touching one another; and this is no way for 7 men to have to live for a whole work season.
This film showed me and im sure a lot of others in the class that what we may think goes on in the work force around us may not actually be what is truly happening and that actual facts and videos such as this one really open our eyes to the truth in societies very close to our own!! I guess because I and know one that I know are involved in this kind of treatment as a working person so this is why I have overlooked it. I am glad that I know now that this goes on at that perhaps a difference can be made, and laws can be changed.
Also as spoken about in the video the workers were thinking about the introduction of unions into their type of work. If they would be able to do so there would be certain restrictions that would benefit the workers such as; regular work hours and getting paid for overtime. Things such as unions could greatly help these workers and would promote their return in years to come.
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