The article refers to it as the “Newfoundland Curse”. You don’t call a stranger anything less formal than a Newfoundlander. While it’s not a slur to use the word you did, it is associated with a lot of bad feelings and shameful behaviour. It is best to use it only with people you are close and friendly with. I’d certainly never put it in metadata.
If we were going to treat workers fairly, we wouldn’t need them to be migrants.