(Guatemala) Nineteen Guatemalan workers subjected to poor working conditions in an agricultural area in Saint-Jude were “rescued” by local authorities, the Guatemalan foreign ministry announced on Saturday.
Following complaints against the owner for violation of labor rights, a Guatemalan consular mission was able to meet the workers on November 18 and guarantee them protection. They are now close to leaving for their country.
“Due to the conditions in which they found themselves, the consular mission asked the Canadian authorities for an emergency intervention to rescue the 19 workers who remained on the farm,” the ministry said in a statement.
He specifies that the intervention ended on November 26 and that the Canadian government also “notified the employer of its lifetime ban on hiring foreign workers.”
Many Guatemalans seek temporary employment opportunities as agricultural workers in various countries, including Canada and the United States, due to the poverty that affects 60% of their country’s 17 million people.