Unpaid tree planters say they were treated like 'slaves' sleep

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They came to Canada for better lives but instead, dozens of African tree planters say they were treated like slaves, subjected to violence, fed rotten food, left to sleep in shipping containers and were not even paid.

The company that employed the men as tree planters in rural British Columbia has now been ordered to pay $228,000 in back wages to employees. Khaira Enterprises, of Surrey, B.C., has also been fined $3,500 by the B.C. Employment Standards Branch for its treatment of the workers.

"It was a kind of slave life," one of the men, Moka Balikama, told reporters in Vancouver. "I swear to God, it was so bad, trust me. We ate some expired food. Can you imagine? We slept in a container, with no washroom, no toilet."

I was treated like "slave" in my workplace, too.

Lik

With a fine of only $3500, what kind of deterrent does it serve? It doesn't even amount to 2% of the withheld wages of the workers.

-Lik