Eric Musekamp has fought for 17 years for more rights for farm workers.
His fight started after a farmer stabbed a worker to death near Taber, Alta., after tipping a grain truck.
Musekamp can see his years of work finally paying off with the introduction of Bill 6.
“I am pleased and satisfied and impressed,” said Musekamp of the Farmworkers Union of Alberta.
The new omnibus bill is expected to change Workers Compensation, labour standards and worker rights.
“The government did a good and thorough job. They tackled everything all at once. I was worried they would succumb to pressure. My recommendation to government was to do exactly what they have done,” he said.
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“As soon as WCB kicks in, we won’t have another Lorna Chandler or Phillipa Thomas sort of thing.
Chandler’s husband, Kevan, was killed in 2006 while working in a feedlot near High River, Alta.
Judge Peter Barley recommended at a fatality inquiry that paid farm employees be covered under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Thomas was injured on the job in 2006 but was not entitled to compensation.
“When we do have an incident on the farm, pretty soon they will investigate and try to do something about it,” Musekamp said.
“In short order it will become safer on a farm, ranch or feedlot.”
For the first time, farm workers in Alberta will be entitled to overtime, vacation time and extra pay for holiday days.
However, Musekamp expects resistance from the Wildrose party and farmers and feedlot owners.
“Is pressure going to come from the big dollar guys like the feedlots. It will be interesting to see what plays out,” he said.
“They’re all going to have rules. The tired old canard has always been a risk to the family farm. Now there are going to be regulations on the family farm.”
Musekamp would like to see Alberta follow the lead of British Columbia, which has an independent farm and ranch training society designed to help farmers comply with the legislation.
He said the training has de-creased deaths by 60 percent and injuries by more than 40 percent.
“If they do that, we should expect similar results.”
