The Labour Ministry has begun an investigation into alleged claims of victimization from Jamaican farm workers who returned to the island earlier this month.

The Ministry in a statement this morning says due to the serious nature of the allegations it has invited the workers to a meeting today to hear from them directly.

The Ministry says it considers all complaints from farm workers seriously and notes media reports about 6 workers in relation to the claims.

It states that it is unable to substantiate the allegations reported in the media and has received no formal complaint from the workers.

The statement adds that preliminary investigations so far have revealed among other things that for the particular farm, there has been a notable fallout in production yield from the early cycle crops – asparagus and strawberry and based on changes in climatic conditions, the spring frost impacted the crop production, causing a decline in projected crop yields.

The Ministry explains that early cessation of employment is a common occurrence based on circumstances affecting crop production, as is observed on several farms in Canada.

It also notes environmental factors such as climate change, adding that several farm workers who were a party to the incident earlier in July are still on the job in Canada.

Several farm workers have complained about their working or living conditions in Canada over recent months, leading to probes by the labour ministry.