Farm Workers

La Via Campesina response to USMCA

The original North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA, or TLCAN) devastated rural communities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. From displacing peasants in Mexico and forcing millions of them to migrate north, to the forced removal of trade protections for family farmers in Canada and the United States, the 1990s experiment with free trade Read more

The NFU and La Via Campesina demand peasant rights NOW

On April 17th each year La Via Campesina (LVC), the international movement of 200 million peasants, small and medium-size farmers, landless people, rural women and youth, Indigenous people, migrants and agricultural workers from around the world, commemorates the massacre of landless peasants in Eldorado dos Carajás, Brazil in 1996. The peasants were slaughtered while struggling Read more

Union Farmer Quarterly: Winter 2019

In this issue: Messages from the Editorial Advisory Committee, President Katie Ward, Women’s President Toby Malloy, Youth President Stuart Oke; reports from First-Time Convention Attendees Introducing Jessie Macinnis, Youth Vice President; Riley Côté-Demerchant, Region 1 Board Member Resolutions passed at the NFU’s 49th Annual Convention, November 22nd to 24th, 2018 – Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Remembering Brendan Read more

UN Declaration on the rights of peasants formally adopted by General Assembly

La Via Campesina makes history

La Via Campesina makes history as UN Declaration on the rights of peasants is formally adopted by General Assembly, Dec 17, 2018 Read more

UN Adopts Declaration on the Rights of Peasants

The Third Committee of the UN General Assembly approved the Declaration on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas this afternoon, expressing the widespread support for the promotion and protection of human rights for an often neglected population. It was approved by a recorded vote of 119 in favour to 7 against, with 49 abstentions. Read more

UN Human Rights Council passes a resolution adopting the peasant rights declaration in Geneva

Seventeen years of long and arduous negotiations later, peasants and other people working in rural areas are only a step away from having a UN Declaration that could defend and protect their rights to land, seeds, biodiversity, local markets and a lot more. Read more

NFU endorses MoVE Campaign for Migrant Workers’ Rights

The National Farmers Union (NFU) has endorsed the Mobility, Voice and Equality for Migrant Workers (MoVE) Campaign organized by the Coalition for Migrant Workers Rights - Canada. Read more

Bill 6 Benefits For Farmers Are Far-Reaching

On December 10, 2015, the Alberta Provincial Government passed Bill 6 – the Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranching Workers Act. Until this time, farm and ranch employers were not required to register with the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) or provide any form of workplace insurance for employees. The Farming and Ranching Exemption regulation didn’t allow health and safety inspectors to enter or conduct investigations on farms and ranches where people, including children, have been seriously injured or killed. It is estimated that between 1990 and 2015, 9,000 workers have sustained injuries requiring hospitalization and approximately 400 people have lost their lives on Alberta farms and ranches. 65 were children. Read more

Benefits of farmers’ workplace insurance are far-reaching

I have the good fortune of living and working in a rural community and I have also had the privilege of working with individuals and families whose livelihoods depend on farming and ranching. In addition to this, I am proud to be a member of a multigenerational farming family. Over the years I have observed a trend in regard to farm related injuries and the economic and social ramifications for those who are not covered by workplace insurance. Read more

Bill 6 a step forward for Alberta farms, says NFU

The Alberta government recently introduced Bill 6, the Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act, which, if passed, will require farms with one or more paid employees to carry Workers Compensation insurance. The National Farmers Union supports Bill 6, which is currently being debated in the Alberta Legislature. Read more