Highline Produce faces another fine – this time for $115,000 – after another mushroom farm worker was critically injured by a netting machine at one of their facilities in Kingsville, Ontario. An investigation by the Ontario Ministry of Labour determined that proper safety measures and procedures were not in place to keep workers safe in 2023. Highline pleaded guilty to violating the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
This isn’t the first time that Highline has failed to keep workers safe. The company was fined two times in 2019 : 1) $75,000 after a worker was caught in a moving cable, and 2) $90,000 when a worker was caught and dragged into a conveyer.
This shows that fines alone do not help keep workers safe, and for bad bosses they are just another cost of doing business. Without permanent status, migrant workers are denied the tools we need to speak up about unsafe conditions and protect ourselves!
Highline Produce employs over 120 migrant workers in Ontario and has facilities in Kingsville, Leamington, and Wellington (close to Belleville, ON). At the end of this year, the Wellington facility will close and be replaced by a robotic facility in Leamington. The plant employs 252 workers on contract, most of whom are migrant workers.
Are you a mushroom farm worker?
Are you worried about unsafe conditions at work? Are you tired of being mistreated by your boss or supervisor?
You are not alone! Workers like you are uniting together to take action and win change, and we want to hear from you.
Send a message to MWAC organizer Kit on WhatsApp to learn more: 905-324-2840
