OCTOBER 2018 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


Piece-rate study sets stage for


payday changes Province says the current system skirts minimum wage rules


by PETER MITHAM LANGLEY – Champ’s Fresh


Farms Inc. produces 50 million tons of mushrooms a year at its farms in Langley with the help of more than 600 workers. It proudly claims to be the largest employer of women and immigrants in BC. Harvesters carefully harvest


five varieties of mushrooms, from white button to portabella and oyster mushrooms. The work has to be done by hand, and harvesters usually earn a healthy premium to the standard minimum wage of $12.65 an hour. Bradner mushroom grower


Sharon Luu chairs the Mushroom Growers Society of BC and doesn’t know of anyone who pays less than minimum wage. It’s not a question of meeting the legal minimum; it’s a function of doing business in the Lower Mainland, with its high cost of living and shortage of farm labour. Compensation can be in the form of a piece rate (set at a minimum of 26 cents a pound for mushrooms), an hourly wage, or a salary. “It doesn’t matter how you calculate it – you have to pay more than minimum wage, otherwise people won’t work for you,” she says, noting that a skilled harvester can earn up to $25 an hour. “It depends on your skill and your contribution. You always try to be a fair employer and attract good workers.” How harvesters of


mushrooms and other crops are paid could soon change, however. Phasing out piece rates could follow a report Karen Taylor, an adjunct professor in food and resource economics at UBC and an agriculture relationship manager with TD Bank in Langley, has been asked to submit to the province’s Fair Wage Commission by December 31.


The commission’s second


report in April 2018 highlighted issues with the existing piece-rate system, created in 1981. The commission notes the system is unique in Canada because it sets rates for 15 commodities; Quebec, by contrast, has just two rates.


While some harvesters


receive well above minimum wage when paid by the piece,


a report retired UBC business professor Mark Thompson prepared for the commission noted many workers, particularly in the Fraser Valley, don’t. The report of the Fair Wage Commission quoted one former agriculture ministry staffer who found it hard to see piece rates “as anything other than racist and abusive.” BC labour minister Harry


Bains says that’s a problem, and he supports the commission’s recommendation that all harvesters be paid minimum wage by June 1, 2019. The commission suggested


retaining piece-rates as an incentive for those who deliver more, but Bains – who was unavailable for interviews – says too little is known about how much harvesters get paid to make immediate changes. “There is a lack of


information on BC farm workers paid by piece rate,” ministry staff said. “In some cases, there was very little or no data available.”


The last major study of piece rates in BC was prepared for the former BC Ministry of Labour, Citizens’ Services and Open Government released in 2012. It compared what harvesters in different commodities received versus the minimum wage, but the province says it doesn’t tell the whole story because the information didn’t come from workers themselves. Bains’ ministry hired Taylor in consultation with the Fair Wages Commission and the


7


Delta South Liberal MLA Ian Paton calls a mini-auction for a captive audience at the annual Day at the Farm at Westham Island Herb Farm in Ladner, September 8. The event also featured hay wagon rides, live music and a potato dig, among other family activities. SEAN HITREC PHOTO


BC Ministry of Agriculture, with which Taylor worked briefly in 2007 as a policy analyst, to get the information. BC’s agriculture ministry


supports changes to the piece rate system, but is leaving the work to others. “The BC government


promised and is working towards making life more affordable for British Columbians and we believe piece-rate farm workers deserve a raise like other minimum wage earners,” agriculture ministry staff said. Speaking on behalf of the


agriculture ministry, labour ministry staff said, “[We] agree that a prudent approach is to obtain as much information as possible before making significant decisions that could have lasting impacts on the agricultural industry.” Nevertheless, the prospect


of change concerns industry. “The existing piece-rate


system allows almost all workers to achieve higher- than-minimum wages,” said Glen Lucas, general manager of the BC Tree Fruit Association and assistant general manager of the Western Agriculture Labour Initiative, a subsidiary of the BC Agriculture Council. “Workers would be most harmed [by abolishing piece rates] and our expectation is that without [the] piece rate, there would be less


motivation to achieve higher productivity, and growers would wind up, in effect, paying less per hour for harvest.” Regardless of Taylor’s


recommendation, piece rates will increase 11.5% on January 1, 2019, matching the $1.30 increase in the minimum wage this past summer. The proposal to ensure harvesters receive minimum wage by June 1, 2019, coincides with the next scheduled increase in the minimum wage to $13.85 an hour.


2019 Tree Fruit Replant Program ANNOUNCEMENT:


Application forms and the updated requirements of the 2019 Tree Fruit Replant Program are now available on the BCFGA website, www.bcfga.com.


Project applications (along with the required Replant Plan) will be received between August 1, 2018 and October 31, 2018. Please avoid the last minute rush and get your application in early. An horticultural advisor is required to sign individual applications for the 2019 Tree Fruit Replant Program. The following information will be provided to assist growers in completing applications.


a. A list of qualified advisors. b. Program operational policies. c. A series of reports on replanting and variety performance and selection are available and should be referenced when preparing a Tree Fruit Replant Program Application.


AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH, SPANISH, & PUNJABI


The Tree Fruit Replant Program provides funding for qualified projects. Project approval is subject to funding availability and is allocated by the date of receipt of applications. Applications will be subject to a horticultural review.


The Tree Fruit Replant Program is a 7 year program, funded by the Province of BC.


Free on-site ladder safety education & consultation


www.AgSafeBC.ca 1.877.533.1789 (toll free)


contact@agsafebc.ca 25TH ANNIVERSARY 1993-2018


BC FRUIT GROWERS’ ASSOCIATION 1-800-619-9022 (ext 1) email: replant@bcfga.com www.bcfga.com


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