Gurpreet Singh
Now Contributor
While the coroner prepares to look into the circumstances that led to the deaths of three farm workers last week, a novel by a prominent Punjabi author gives insight into conditions faced by farm workers in the Lower Mainland.
Surrey resident Jarnail Singh Sekha authored Duniya Kaisi Hoyi, a Punjabi novel first published in 1997 and again in 2002.
Based on his personal experience as a farm worker, the novel is more like a documentary. Sekha feels that even 10 years after he wrote his novel, there has been no change in the condition of farm workers.
On March 7, three women died when a van carrying 17 farm workers crashed near Abbotsford. This accident snowballed into a major controversy as labour unions and the Opposition NDP blamed the Liberal government for laxity in keeping a watch on the condition of farm workers. The B.C. government has ordered roadside inspections of vehicles carrying farm workers.
Sekha remembers the situation then was no different from what it is today. He blames both the Liberals and the NDP for the sitution.
Sekha told the Now inspections were abruptly stopped in 1997 during the days of NDP power. "Even the so-called progressive and pro-union leaders who have their own farms are not giving the workers their dues."
Dr. Darshun Gill, who has written the prologue of the novel, has also criticized the leaders of farm worker unions. He writes these leaders have got secure jobs for themselves in the name of farm workers.
Sekha's novel tells readers how farm owners exploit their workers and how they are transported to the farms in unsafe vehicles. The novel also exposes the unsafe working conditions at these farms. It profiles the farm owners, the contractors and the workers, who are mainly new and elderly immigrants. The novel also throws light on their circumstances as they are forced to work for less than minimum wage and keep silent whenever there is an inspection at their workplace.
Sekha also criticizes farm workers -the ones who cheat and exploit the welfare system.