The Okanagan labour shortage will result in the Mexican worker program doubling in size this year - again.
In 2004, the first year of the program, four Mexicans came to the Okanagan to work in the orchards. This year, the number will likely top 600, twice as many as last year. Provincewide, 2,500 Mexicans are expected to pick fruit this summer.
Glen Lucas, manager of the B.C. Fruit Growers Association, said that even with the increase last year there were still shortages.
The Mexicans are paid either $8.90 an hour or on a piecework basis, which usually earns them more. The employer pays for their plane ticket and accommodation, although the workers must pay rent to a maximum of seven per cent of their earnings up to $550.
Lucas said that so far there has been no shortage of workers wishing to come north. A few of the Mexicans have arrived already. They must go home by Dec. 15.
They earn as much in a day here as they would in a week in Mexico.
