A Lifeline in troubled waters: A support intervention for migrant farm workers

Abstract

We implemented and evaluated a service delivery intervention (support model) to address the challenges faced by migrant agricultural workers in British Columbia, Canada. Three factors were identified that contributed to the effectiveness of the intervention: (1) face‐to‐face support and in‐person outreach towards connection; (2) accounting migrant workers' hierarchy of needs and addressing their basic needs first towards comprehensiveness; and (3) role clarity and communication between partners involved in supporting this population towards coordination. A final factor, wider constraints, referred to the wider context of migrant workers' lives including their temporary status, tied work permits, and lack of access to rights. These wider constraints, which were exacerbated by the COVID‐19 pandemic, underscore that until greater policy action is taken to address these workers' precarious status, support services can only offer a lifeline in troubled waters.

More of the same? Migrant agricultural workers’ health, safety, and legal rights in the COVID-19 context

“…Furthermore, while only 15.1% of participants indicated receiving help from a support group in previous surveys (Colindres et al, 2021), 60.8% of 2020 respondents reported the same. This suggests that the launching of the support model intervention (described above; see also Cohen & Caxaj, 2022) provided participants with a viable option for these resources, as no formal services existed in the region beforehand. Further research would be required to test this hypothesis.…”

“…(1) onus on workers to identify and report concerns, and consequently, take on related risk to assert their rights to dignity, health, and safety; (2) paternalism and control that both enforce and normalize employer gatekeeping and surveillance, often shaping how health and social services are offered; and (3) system-enabled vulnerabilities through limited infrastructure and/or funding for existing services and an underinvestment in prevention measures, including enforcement (Caxaj & Cohen, 2021a;Cohen & Caxaj, 2022). It may be that although support persons were known and visible to migrant agricultural workers, larger factors (such as those described above) kept participants from feeling truly able to follow through, or benefit from, the skill sets offered by these support persons.…”

“…Further, comparisons between our cross-sectional data gathered from each year posed challenges because of the undeniable history effects posed by COVID-19 (Mara & Peugh, 2020). Nonetheless, in qualitative research conducted before the pandemic, we captured promising trends in help-seeking by migrant workers that suggest that the availability of these services have made a strong impact on this population (Caxaj & Cohen, 2021c;Cohen & Caxaj, 2022). Yet there is a timely need to capture indicators and the degree of challenges as they have been uniquely experienced by migrant agricultural workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Housing Conditions and Health Implications for Migrant Agricultural Workers in Canada: A Scoping Review

“…Although migrants often depend heavily on income earned in Canada to support themselves and their families, the precarious design of this work abroad presents risks for their physical and mental health, along with labor and human rights (Binford, 2013). The consequences of this precarity include pressure to accept hazardous working and living conditions, limited help-seeking and reporting of health concerns, and enduring workplace abuse and intimidation (Basok et al, 2014;Caxaj & Cohen, 2019;Cohen & Caxaj, 2022). Prolonged familial separation, social isolation, and employer expectations of hyperproductivity can further exacerbate these risks (McLaughlin, 2010;Perry, 2018;Wells et al, 2014).…”

“…Constrained freedom of mobility became acute during employer-overseen quarantine periods in the COVID-19 pandemic (Decent and Dignified Housing for Migrant Farmworkers, Sztainbok, 2021). Racialized surveillance and profiling in the surrounding community also contributed to workers' sense of isolation (Basok et al, 2014;Cohen, 2019;Cohen & Caxaj, 2022;Juárez Cerdi, 2010;Preibisch, 2004;Hjalmarson et al, 2015).…”