Flamborough broccoli grower Ken Forth is warning that the planned minimum wage increase in Ontario, Canada could have a huge negative impact on farmers.
Forth, who is the chairman of the labour section of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers, said the increases brought on by Bill 148, which will see wages increase to $14 per hour Jan. 1, 2018 and $15 per hour Jan. 1, 2019 will impact all of agriculture.
“It’s going to increase the wages by 24 per cent come January and 32 per cent total by January of 2019,” he said, adding the industry wasn’t given time to plan for increases. “I don’t know any company that can withstand that kind of pressure.”
“Most agriculture products in Canada are priced based upon how much somebody like Mexico or Guatemala or South America or China can put food into Toronto,” he said. “Their labour coefficient is less than a dollar an hour – it forces our prices down.
“We are told what we will receive and that can change on a daily basis,” he continued. “In essence, that’s the problem and I don’t know how it is going to get resolved.
Forth said what will happen in some cases is farmers will move to crops that don’t require as much labour.
“There’s already a diminished horticulture industry,” he explained. “It’s going to diminish even more."
However, he said the wage increase will have an impact on all farm workers, foreign or not.
“This is all of agriculture and this is all of fruits and vegetables – no matter if they’re foreign workers or not,” he said. “We would like to pay our people, no question.
“But first of all, the consumers won’t pay more for the food and number two, the chain stores won’t either because they leverage us against their world crops.”
“When the receipts are in by the end of the year we will factor in a $2.60 increase and we’ll see if it’s red or black,” he said. “Then we’ll have to make a decision.
“It’s going to be different, it’s going to be tough.”
Source: www.flambouroughreview.com