Farm workers pension ‘an insult’

Some Barbadians who retire after toiling on farms in Canada for many years are said to be reaping as little as CAN$70 a month in pension from that country. Ken Mason, Barbados liaison service officer in Canada, thinks this is “an insult” that needs rectifying. However, senior Government officials say there is more to the […]

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Some Barbadians who retire after toiling on farms in Canada for many years are said to be reaping as little as CAN$70 a month in pension from that country.

Ken Mason, Barbados liaison service officer in Canada, thinks this is “an insult” that needs rectifying.

However, senior Government officials say there is more to the matter than that, explaining that pensions received in those circumstances depended on contributions made to Canada’s social security scheme.

They also made it clear that Barbadians employed on the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Programme in Canada could also benefit in retirement from contributions made to the National Insurance and Social Security Service (NISSS) at home.

Mason voiced concern about the issue during a recent town hall meeting in Canada attended by officials including Minister in the Ministry of Finance Ryan Straughn and Director of Finance and Economic Affairs Ian Carrington.

Speaking about Barbadian workers on Canadian farms, Mason said, “When these guys retire, the cheques that come from Canada are almost an insult. They pay all their taxes in Canada and then when it comes to pension you are getting guys that work 20 [to] 38 [years] getting CAN$70 a month, I think it is an insult.

“You get guys [who] work . . . six months in every year minimum they work in Canada and they tell them that is what they contributed.”

Maso added: “It hurts me when I have to apply for pension [for these workers]. I have a guy that is 76 years old still on the programme and every time he wants to retire the farmer tells him ‘no’ he has got to come back and at the end of that he goes home after all those years up here and he is going to be getting less than CAN$100 in pension a month; it is an insult.”

Some officials say there could be a misunderstanding on how the retirement benefits for Barbadians working temporarily in Canada are calculated and paid.

The NISSS recently reminded that “Barbados currently has reciprocal agreements in place with Canada including Quebec, the United Kingdom and the CARICOM”.

“Employers with employees travelling to or coming from any of these destinations for work should contact the National Insurance Office regarding the payment of contributions,” it said.

The Canadian government also points out that there is an Agreement on Social Security between Canada and Barbados since January 1, 1986.

“If you have lived or worked in Barbados and in Canada, or you are the survivor of someone who has lived or worked in Barbados and in Canada, you may be eligible for pensions or benefits from Barbados or Canada, or both,” it says.

Carrington, who is a former director of National Insurance, said in response to Mason’s questions that “there is a reciprocal agreement with the Canadian social security similar to how the Barbados Revenue Authority has a reciprocal agreement and that agreement allows you to essentially make your [social security] contributions in Canada”.

“In Barbados you could pay contributions on $21 per week $1 098 a year and that contribution basically will add up when you look at the whole year to no more than $4 or $5 and therefore you will qualify, you will meet all of the requirements, but you are going to get a very minimum pension,” he explained.

“The difference between Canada and Barbados is that we set a floor for our pension so that nobody falls below the minimum, Canada don’t have that – you get what you contribute.”

He added: “There [are] some persons who are on the Farm Labour Scheme who make the decision to opt to make the contribution in Barbados, so it would have been deducted and it would have been sent to Barbados and they are given the equivalent of what abides in Barbados.”

When contacted for a comment on the issue, Minister of Labour Social Security and the Third Sector Colin Jordan said that since Barbadians employed on the SAWP were temporary workers, any pension they ultimately received would be based on their contributions to Canada’s social security scheme.

“There is no minimum pension so whatever the number works out to be [based on contributions] is what the person will get,” he noted.

“For persons who are living in Canada for at least ten years consecutively they would qualify for a minimum pension, but our Seasonal Agricultural Worker Programme does not qualify under that because people are not living there for ten years, people come and go, as we will say in Barbados.”

He continued: “So the agricultural one is a seasonal programme, the hospitality one is a temporary programme, they are required to come back in terms of agriculture by December 15 every year and in terms of the hospitality workers, I think they get up to two year contract and at the end of the two years, they have to come back as well.

“They are eligible to go back, but they have to come back to Barbados, or at least they have to leave Canada. They are entitled to a pension at the age of 65. They are entitled to an earlier pension, they can apply at age 60, but then there is a deduction similar to what we have in Barbados.

Jordan also said that “if you go early, it means that you reduce the amount of time that the money could be invested and give you a larger return”.

“So the deduction is between 30 and 36 per cent from what I’m told if you go for an early pension at age 60. However, how the Canadians calculate the pension it is done at age 65 and the worker is entitled to a pension at that age, but it’s based on your contributions,” he stressed.

The minister also pointed out: “There is a contribution that is made to National Insurance locally so the scheme in Barbados is also available to them so they can be getting whatever it is they get out Canada along with what they get out of Barbados.”

The Canadian government says in relation to its social security agreement with Barbados that “if you contributed to both the Canada Pension Plan and the Barbadian pension programme, or if you lived in Canada and Barbados, this agreement may help you qualify for Canadian old age and disability benefits [and] Barbadian old age and disability benefits”.

If you are the widow, widower or child of a person who contributed to the pension programmes of both countries, this agreement may help you qualify for Canadian survivor benefits and Barbadian survivor benefits, it also shared.

Canada added, however, that “under the agreement, the benefit paid by each country will be based solely on your creditable periods under that country’s pension programme”.

“In other words, Canada will pay a benefit amount reflecting the portion of your periods that are creditable under Canada’s pension programme, and Barbados will pay a benefit amount reflecting the portion of your creditable periods under Barbados’s pension programme,” the Canadian authorities stated.

Discussion about social security benefits for temporary migrant workers in Canada comes as some lawmakers there call for change in the Temporary Foreign Worker Programme, including the establishment of a Migrant Work Commission.

In addition to the commission, Canada’s Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, in the report Act Now: Solutions For Temporary And Migrant Labour In Canada, recommended phasing out employer-specific work permits, exploring sector or region-specific work permits, and reforming lax enforcement and compliance measures.

“Many low-wage migrant workers who help sustain agriculture, caregiving and tourism sectors — among others – come to Canada through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Under this program, workers receive what is known as a closed or tied permit that requires them to work for specific employers,” the senate committee stated after concluded an investigation, initiated in November 2022, on the temporary migrant worker regime.

“This makes them more vulnerable to abuse at the hands of bad actors. Well-intentioned employers are also disadvantaged, however, as they have limited to no flexibility to move workers where needed, to staff higher-skilled occupations and to recognise good work with promotions.”

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