Unveiling the nature of the labour process in tobacco farming: Migrant agricultural workers in South-Western Ontario

Since the 1990s, migration flows have been rising in practically every region of the world. More than 50 per cent of migrant worker flows are from less developed countries to more developed countries. The agriculture sector in more developed countries is one of the central arenas in which migrant workers from less developed countries are being employed. In Canada, the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) manages the temporary employment of migrant workers in the agriculture sector. In 2009, more than 15000 Mexican and Jamaican migrant agricultural workers were employed through the SAWP on Canadian farms in Ontario. Ontario's agricultural industry is heavily dependent on the SAWP for securing adequate and reliable workers.

My research examines the interaction between farm owners and workers participating in the SAWP. I bring into focus the nature and dynamics of the labour process at the point of production (i.e., the workplace or agro-space) on two tobacco farms in Delhi, Ontario. My findings show that the labour process in tobacco farming is characterized by long working hours that jeopardize the health, safety, and well-being of workers. Also, the labour process in tobacco farming is highly deskilled, which results in the alienation of workers. This is further exasperated by the various mechanisms that farm owners employ to control workers; however, regardless of the despotic nature of the labour process workers continue to find effective ways to cope and resist.