NEED TO KNOW
OECS Honours Longstanding
Seasonal Agricultural Workers
32 workers recognised for 15+ years
of service at ECLS
L
ongstanding farm workers
with the Canada Seasonal
Agricultural Workers
Programme (SAWP)
were honoured for their years of
dedicated service at the inaugural
Eastern Caribbean Liaison Services
(ECLS) Worker Recognition and
Employer Appreciation Event, held
in Leamington, Ontario, on July 14,
2019. celebrate the accomplishments of
their peers. ranging from 16 to 29 years of
service.
SAWP falls under the umbrella of
the Canada Temporary Foreign
Workers Programme and is
coordinated by the ECLS in
close collaboration with OECS
Ministries of Labour, the Canadian
Government, and employers in the
agriculture sector. Worker Award recipient, Boniface
Hippolyte, said the SAWP provided
him with a livelihood and improved
his lifestyle over the past 15 years:
“I feel very good, very proud. This
programme has helped me a lot.
I help my mother back home and
I was able to send my children to
school.”
The event was held at the Roma
Club in Leamington, the location
of many SAWP farming partners.
This facilitated the attendance of
approximately 300 farm workers,
who welcomed the opportunity to Thirty-two workers representing
four OECS Member States were
recognised for participating in the
Programme for 15 or more years.
The longest-running participant
was William Esprit of Dominica,
who was commended for his
outstanding 33 years of dedicated
service to the Programme.
Chief Liaison Officer,
Olaf Fontenelle
In addition to the awards for
dedicated service, all of the
Leamington-based Employer
Partners were presented with
Certificates of Appreciation for
their longstanding commitment to
employing OECS workers. Three
team members of the ECLS were
also presented with longstanding
service awards at the event,
40 SL-YOU | It’s All About Business
Fellow worker, Heth Stephens of St.
Vincent and the Grenadines, who
has been a part of the SAWP for
nine years, praised the ECLS for
its support of workers: “The ECLS
service is excellent. There’s no time
I’ve called them and they haven’t
done everything in their power to
help me. They really try to care for
us as workers.”
From the Employer Partners’
perspective, the ECLS is also
fulfilling its mandate. Doug Balisilli
of D&L Balisilli Farms reflected on
the good relationship he has built
with the ECLS during the 12 years
his farm has been involved in the
SAWP.
www.slyoumag.com | September-October 2019