With his tool belt sagging under the weight of clippers, pliers, screwdrivers and metal pokes, Rodolfo Hernandez cruises the nursery in a golf cart in the blanketing July heat.
White teeth flash from behind a mustache-framed smile as he explains in broken English how he left behind a wife and two children in Mexico to work at Lakeshore Tree Farms in Saskatoon.
In Saskatchewan, he can make three times the wages of farm labourers in Mexico who collect less than $7 a day. Hourly wages here range from $8 in vegetable and fruit operations to $9 in beekeeping.
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Fixing irrigation pipes and watering plants from April to October in Canada will help pay for his family home near Puerto Vallarta, said Hernandez, 37, who has worked in greenhouses and tobacco fields.
“The job is not too hard,” he said, citing regular shifts, scheduled breaks and days off.
He and the other eight men, all of whom have wives and children in Mexico, send money home to support their families and keep in touch regularly by telephone. All say they miss their families but will be reunited with them and jobs in bean and corn fields by the fall.
They are among the 17,000 seasonal agricultural workers in Canada this year, including 32 Mexicans at four operations around Saskatoon and Regina. That’s up from 21 in 2003, the first of a three-year pilot project to bring foreign agricultural workers to Saskatchewan.
Vic Krahn of Lakeshore said the Mexican workforce has lifted his business from crisis management to strategic planning mode.
Previously he said the focus was on finding, training and retaining workers.
“Our foreman was doing constant training,” said Krahn.
He echoed the sentiments of other growers who cited high turnover rates among Canadian workers and difficulties in finding enough who are willing to do agricultural work.
Workers were often not available to work from April to October or were looking for jobs in sales and landscaping.
With a stable, highly motivated labour force that shows up every day with a good work ethic, Krahn finds it easier to take time away from his business.
“I’ve finally got some sanity and peace of mind,” he said.
“I would not go back, I cannot function without them.”
Krahn said the Mexicans come for a specific purpose and have few distractions.
“Work is their priority. This is like the Canadian’s oil rigs,” he said, referring to people who work up north for good wages in mining and oil and gas operations.
When the season is over, he said Mexican workers return home, whereas Canadian seasonal workers might have to turn to employment insurance until another job is found.
Elaine Waldner of the Saskatchewan Vegetable Growers Association said the province’s fledgling market garden industry is getting stronger. Groups like hers are helping raise the industry’s profile and its need for field workers.
“Government is starting to listen more.”
Waldner speculated that the migrant worker program, well established in provinces like Ontario and British Columbia, did not come to Saskatchewan in past years due to a lack of political will, coupled with fears that it would take jobs away from Canadians.
As an example of labour shortages at critical times, she cited her own small operation. Two workers taking holidays in a rain-soaked July meant all the weeding had to be done by Waldner, who also works off-farm.
Under the Canada-Mexico seasonal agricultural workers program, employers pay the airfare of the workers, provide health insurance, locate housing nearby and supply regular transportation to banks and stores.
Growers can recoup a percentage of these expenses through payroll deductions.
Six of the men working at Lakeshore live in a three-bedroom condo within walking distance of the farm. They are responsible for rent and their own supplies.
If the workers terminate employment or leave earlier than their contracts, they could be on the hook for the flight costs.
Growers must post jobs for Canadians before applying for Mexican labour.
Krahn said he has had few issues with these workers.
“They are proud of the job they do; they take pride in all they do,” said Krahn, who also employs about seven Canadians full time in addition to numerous family members.
The Mexicans did not have experience in the nursery trade but have adapted well to the jobs.
Andrew Sullivan, vegetable specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture, said access to a stable and reliable marketplace will benefit Saskatchewan fruit and vegetable growers, beekeepers, nurseries and greenhouses.
“It should help them be stable or grow,” he said, noting growers can shift their focus to marketing from labour shortfalls.
He said the response has been positive from the growers.
“It’s not a program that limits work for Canadians, but helps them get crops off in a timely manner,” he said. “A lot haven’t been able to do that in the past.”
