WATCH ABOVE: Activists gathered in Montreal today to demand justice for all temporary migrant workers, including Noé Arteaga Santos, who was illegally fired from his job as a migrant worker at a tomato-producing farm owned by Savoura.
MONTREAL – Advocates gathered near St-Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal Sunday afternoon, where an annual mass for temporary migrant workers was being held, to demand justice for all migrant workers and for Noé Arteaga Santos in particular.
They are asking for Quebec’s Minister of Labour, Sam Hamad, and Savoura, a Quebec-based tomato producer to take responsibility for unpaid damages to migrant workers.
Santos was fired by Savoura in 2009, a short time after he started working for the tomato producer in Saint-Etienne-de-Gres. Isaïa Garcia Castillo, a fellow migrant worker from Guatemala became ill and Santos participated in a short strike, demanding Castillo receive medical attention.
In 2014, a human rights tribunal ruled in favor of Santos, saying the company had fired him without just cause and that Savoura had discriminated against workers based on their ethnic origin. The tribunal then reversed his firing.
Santos had hoped to recover the salary he was owed since his dismissal, but Savoura declared bankruptcy in March of this year.
Helena Sanchez, spokesperson for the Immigrant Workers Center (IWC), told Global News that Santos is owed around $50, 000.
By bringing attention to his plight activists with the IWC hope the company, which is still producing tomatoes in four greenhouses across the province, will do the right thing.
Organizers also hope Quebec’s labour minister will step-up and help end what they say is the exploitation of migrant workers.
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