Could voluntary certification programs and consumer pressure improve working conditions and farmworkers’ rights in Canada?
Erika Borrelli thinks so. The PhD candidate at the University of Windsor has studied certification programs that give farm employers who agree to meet labour and social responsibility standards a stamp of approval.
They allow retailers and consumers to choose to buy from responsible suppliers.
Borrelli says the certification — and risk of losing it — incentivizes employers to follow higher standards and gives workers a new way to hold their employer to account over grievances.
That could be critical in a sector that relies on vulnerable temporary foreign workers and where advocates say
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