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“I Will Not Leave My Body Here”: Migrant Farmworkers’ Health and Safety Amidst a Climate of Coercion

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Listed:
  • C. Susana Caxaj

    (School of Nursing, University of Western Ontario London, ON, N6A 5B9, Canada)

  • Amy Cohen

    (Anthropology, Okanagan College, Vernon, BC, V1B 2N5, Canada)

Abstract

Every year more temporary migrant workers come to Canada to fill labour shortages in the agricultural sector. While research has examined the ways that these workers are made vulnerable and exploitable due to their temporary statuses, less has focused on the subjective experiences of migrant agricultural workers in regards their workplace health and safety. We conducted interviews and focus groups with migrant workers in the interior of British Columbia, Canada and used a narrative line of inquiry to highlight two main themes that illustrate the implicit and complex mechanisms that can structure migrant agricultural workers’ workplace climate, and ultimately, endanger their health and safety. The two themes we elaborate are (1) authorities that silence; and (2) “I will not leave my body here.” We discuss the implications of each theme, ultimately arguing that a number of complex political and economic forces create a climate of coercion in which workers feel compelled to choose between their health and safety and tenuous economic security.

Suggested Citation

  • C. Susana Caxaj & Amy Cohen, 2019. "“I Will Not Leave My Body Here”: Migrant Farmworkers’ Health and Safety Amidst a Climate of Coercion," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-14, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:15:p:2643-:d:251242
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. J. Adam Perry, 2018. "Living at Work and Intra-worker Sociality Among Migrant Farm Workers in Canada," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 1021-1036, November.
    2. Chantal Robillard & Janet McLaughlin & Donald C. Cole & Biljana Vasilevska & Richard Gendron, 2018. "“Caught in the Same Webs”—Service Providers’ Insights on Gender-Based and Structural Violence Among Female Temporary Foreign Workers in Canada," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 583-606, August.
    3. Jenna Hennebry & Janet McLaughlin & Kerry Preibisch, 2016. "Out of the Loop: (In)access to Health Care for Migrant Workers in Canada," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 521-538, May.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Leah F. Vosko & Tanya Basok & Cynthia Spring & Guillermo Candiz & Glynis George, 2022. "Understanding Migrant Farmworkers’ Health and Well-Being during the Global COVID-19 Pandemic in Canada: Toward a Transnational Conceptualization of Employment Strain," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-19, July.
    2. Courtney E. Boen & Rebecca Anna Schut & Nick Graetz, 2024. "The Painful and Chilling Effects of Legal Violence: Immigration Enforcement and Racialized Legal Status Inequities in Worker Well-Being," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 43(2), pages 1-29, April.
    3. Mathieu J. P. Poirier & Douglas Barraza & C. Susana Caxaj & Ana María Martínez & Julie Hard & Felipe Montoya, 2022. "Informality, Social Citizenship, and Wellbeing among Migrant Workers in Costa Rica in the Context of COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-14, May.
    4. Carlos Colindres & Amy Cohen & C. Susana Caxaj, 2021. "Migrant Agricultural Workers’ Health, Safety and Access to Protections: A Descriptive Survey Identifying Structural Gaps and Vulnerabilities in the Interior of British Columbia, Canada," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-15, April.
    5. Fabiola M. Perez-Lua & Alec M. Chan-Golston & Nancy J. Burke & Maria-Elena De Trinidad Young, 2023. "The Influence of Organizational Aspects of the U.S. Agricultural Industry and Socioeconomic and Political Conditions on Farmworkers’ COVID-19 Workplace Safety," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(23), pages 1-19, December.

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