Oct 07

Pilgrimage to Freedom: Breaking the Chains of Indentureship Thanksgiving Weekend – October 10, 2010

march poster

Pilgrimage to Freedom:
Breaking the Chains of Indentureship
Thanksgiving Weekend –
October 10, 2010

Support migrant workers and allies who will be marching from Leamington to Windsor, Ontario to call attention to the living and working conditions of migrant workers who grow and process our food this Thanksgiving.

Migrant workers are marching to demand status, an end to exorbitant recruitment fees, better housing, safe working conditions and an end to racism and sexism in the workplace.

Allies will be walking alongside workers in solidarity with their call for justice.

march

Call for Support

1) Donations
· Financial and in-kind donations are needed to help make the march a success and to cover costs of transportation, food and other supplies.
· Please contact Justicia if your organization or local can assist with in-kind or financial support at pilgrimage2freedom@gmail.com

You could make a check payable to Justicia for Migrant Workers and send them to Justicia for Migrant Workers c/o Workers’ Action Centre, 720 Spadina Avenue, Suite 223, Toronto ON M5S 2T9.

2) March in solidarity with migrant workers
·We are inviting allies to walk alongside migrant workers for some or all of the march. Buses for rest and other support will be provided to marchers during the march.

· Contact Tzazna Miranda Leal or Chris Ramsaroop from Justicia for Migrant workers to register as a marcher and to get more information at pilgrimage2freedom@gmail.com

· Please contact us to register by October 3rd.

3) Spread the word!

· Help share information about the march with members of your community, organization or local.

·Contact Justicia for Migrant workers for copies of posters and other outreach tools at pilgrimage2freedom@gmail.com

Background

Approximately 18,000 migrant farm workers from Thailand, Mexico, Guatemala, the Philippines, and the Caribbean arrive in Canada to work in our fields, orchards and greenhouses every year.

Many workers pay thousands of dollars in fees to recruiters to get work in Canada, sometimes for jobs that do not even exist.   Once they arrive, many workers face dangerous working conditions, sub-standard housing and employment standards and human rights violations.

Because of their precarious immigration status, migrant workers have little protection against being sent home by employers for speaking up about their rights.  Migrant workers and allies are marching in the Pilgrimage to Freedom to demand status, an end to exorbitant recruitment fees, better housing, safe working conditions and an end to racism and sexism in the workplace.

Justicia for Migrant Workers is a volunteer-run collective that strives to promote the rights of migrant farm workers.

pilgrimage2freedom@gmail.com
//www.justicia4migrantworkers.org

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