VICTORIA—It has been almost two months since a tragic accident took the lives of three farmworkers in the Fraser Valley, and the B.C. Liberals still haven’t done enough to address critical concerns about their safety, NDP Labour critic Chuck Puchmayr said today.

“Today the Labour Minister announced regulatory changes aimed at protecting farmworkers -- a step in the right direction,” said Puchmayr, MLA for New Westminster. “But there are a number of safety issues the Campbell government has yet to address. If the Labour Minister is serious about protecting farm workers, then she must implement all recommendations put forward by the Opposition and the families to improve worker safety.

“The Minister claims she is stepping up enforcement,” said Puchmayr. “But it remains to be seen whether the Campbell government can be trusted to keep up that enforcement, or whether that commitment will fade once they’re off the political hot seat.”

Raj Chouhan, NDP MLA for Burnaby-Edmonds and founding President of the Canadian Farm Workers’ Union, noted that the Campbell government still hasn’t restored basic rights to farmworkers.

“In 2002, the Campbell government stripped basic employment standards, such as minimum wage, away from farm workers – rendering them second-class citizens,” said Chouhan. “The heavy harvesting season is around the corner, and if the government does not take immediate action, they will once again be forced to work under unsafe conditions.”

“Today’s announcement by the Minister shows that the B.C. Liberals still aren’t prepared to grant these basic rights to farm workers. They don’t seem to care about improving the substantive conditions under which these people are forced to work,” said Chouhan.

“The Opposition put forward two Private Members’ Bills that would restore safety standards and basic rights for farm workers – far beyond the minister’s announcement today,” said Puchmayr. “We would be happy to work with the government to pass this legislation before the end of the spring sitting, to ensure that the rights and dignity of B.C. farmworkers is restored.”