No Canada jobs for mushroom pickers – DOLE

The Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) warned the public on Tuesday against “too good to be true” job offers abroad, following reports of Canada’s supposed need for mushroom pickers.

According to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Toronto, there are currently no job orders for mushroom pickers in Canada.

It said the P180,000 monthly salary supposedly being offered was “inflated and inaccurate.”

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In a report to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, labor attaché Celeste Marie Ramos said that mushroom pickers in Canada were often paid minimum wage, ranging from 10 to 14 Canadian dollars, or P402 to P563.

She added that the requirements for foreign workers were also stringent since the Canadian government wanted to prioritize local workers.

For a farm owner to be able to hire a foreign worker, he must first get a labor market impact assessment which often takes up to two years to be approved. —WITH A REPORT FROM TINA G. SANTOS