IOM has assisted 5,000 Guatemalan labour migrants in the past 18
months to travel to Canada under the Foreign Temporary Workers
Programme.

By the end of this year another 500 workers are expected to join
the programme.

In 2003, IOM kicked off a two-year pilot project that involved
125 Guatemalan workers selected for temporary agricultural work in
Canada.  Since then, 8,000 Guatemalan workers have
participated in the programme.

Since then, the programme has expanded to include the chicken
dairy and meat processing industry, construction, landscaping and
laundry and now includes the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British
Colombia, Prince Edward Island and Ontario.

Santa Pic de Ticú recalls the first time she travelled to
Canada: "It was difficult for me to become a temporary migrant
worker.  When I told my husband that there was an IOM
programme that would allow me to go to Canada for a few months to
work on a farm, he did not want me to go.  But after I
explained the benefits this would bring to our family, he gave me
permission to go."

For the past four years Santa has travelled to Canada to harvest
strawberries.  Her sons, William and Pablo, stay at home with
their father and grandmother. 

The project "Temporary Agricultural Workers to Canada" was
created by IOM and the Guatemalan Ministries of Foreign Affairs and
of Labour and Social Affairs following the signing of a Memorandum
of Understanding between IOM and the Fondation des entreprises en
recrutement de main-d'œuvre agricole étrangère
or FERME, a Canadian Foundation based in Quebec that deals with the
recruitment of foreign agricultural labour.

Günther Müssig, IOM Chief of Mission in Guatemala,
says the project has become a successful model for temporary labour
migration and that it is the only solution offered to avoid
irregular migration.  "The past five years have proven that it
is possible to carry out a safe, dignified and orderly flow of
migrant workers, thereby contributing to better management of
migration flows.  The project provides benefits all around
– to the countries of origin and destination and to the
migrants and their families."

IOM provides technical assistance to the Guatemalan government,
participates in the selection of workers, advises those selected on
travel documents and other requirements for travel to Canada, and
arranges their flights.

The agreement stipulates that all migrants must return to their
country of origin at the end of their contracts, which range
between four and six months, and provide coverage under Canadian
labour laws.

The wages received by temporary migrant workers are higher than
the minimum salary in Canada.  Additional benefits for the
migrants include the new skills they learn, ranging from new
planting and harvesting techniques to classifying and packing the
produce, which are taken with them to Guatemala when the migrants
return.

A recent household survey on expenditures confirmed that the
earnings these temporary migrant workers are bringing back to their
places of origin are having a positive impact on their quality of
life.

For more information please contact:

Stefan Mantsch

IOM Guatemala

Tel:  +502 23628367 to 70

E-mail: "mailto:smantsch@iom.int">smantsch@iom.int