Caregivers hit government’s ‘secretive’ plans that threaten their status

Caregivers hit government’s ‘secretive’ plans that threaten their status

From left: Coco Diaz, Renel Reyes, Sandra Segura and Liza Draman

By Veronica C. Silva

Caregivers in Toronto recently criticized the government for what they call “secretive federal government plans” which could threaten their residency status.

The Caregivers’ Action Centre (CAC), composed of current and former caregivers and domestic workers, renewed its call for permanent residency status upon arrival instead of waiting for 24 months before they become eligible for PR status. This is their renewed demand after noting several reports have indicated that live-in caregivers might lose the pathway to permanent residency.

“In closed door meetings with select groups and employers, federal Immigration Minister Chris Alexander has floated the idea of reneging on this legal obligation,” the CAC said in a statement.

PURA VELASCO, CAC spokeperson, at the press conference, Oct. 9, 2014 (PHOTOS: VC Silva)

Currently, live-in caregivers enter the country as temporary foreign workers. But after working for 24 months within a four-year period, they can apply for permanent residency and after approval they can bring their families to Canada.

“Chris Alexander…would like to take away this right to permanent residency, and we are here to openly express our disagreement regarding that. Our lifelong demand for permanent residency has not been granted, and now they want to take it away,” said Renel Reyes of the CAC in a press conference last Oct. 9 in downtown Toronto.

The government has reportedly been holding closed-door consultations with some members of the Filipino community. In these meetings, it has reportedly been discussed that the government’s commitment to grant PR status to caregivers might be removed.

Instead of removing the pathway to residency, the CAC recommends a “Federal Caregiver Program that balances the permanent and growing need for services that caregivers provide to families in Canada and the need to protect caregivers from exploitation.”

“We would like to tell the immigration minister that we deserve permanent status upon arrival without conditions because caregiving job is important and there should be a national caregiving strategy … where workers’ rights are protected, especially those who are coming from abroad … so that the caregiving job is sustainable, not (make) disposable workers that they can kick out of the country at any time they want to,” said Pura Velasco, CAC spokesperson, at the press conference.
Caregivers also debunked the notion that they are unskilled or low skilled.

“They (caregivers) are allowed to come here because they have the qualifications to take care of the elderly and our small children and yet we always consider them as low skilled. What a shame that we are entrusting our elderly, our children to these unskilled or low skilled women,” said Columbia “Coco” Diaz, a former domestic worker and now Canadian citizen, who has been fighting for the rights of caregivers for more than 30 years.

With a temporary status, caregivers said they do not complain about their poor working conditions in their rush to complete the 24-month requirement to apply for PR status.

CAC said that a survey they did in 2011 indicated that 42 per cent of 132 caregivers surveyed worked more than 11 hours per day and 72 per cent did not get overtime pay.

“Most caregivers don’t want to jeopardize their PR application,” said Liza Draman, CAC organizer. “In order to avoid months of abuse, caregivers must have permanent residence upon arrival. That is what we are calling for.”

Diaz, who attended one of the meetings with Alexander, said a so-called “Express Entry” program was also discussed in the meeting, but it was not clear how this will work and if this applies to caregivers.

A CAC briefing paper distributed at the press conference says that the proposed “Express Entry” program is “likely to be limited (capped).”

The CAC said they also learned from others who attended the meetings about other proposed changes to the Live-in Caregiver Program, including making the live-in condition optional, but raising other requirements such as skills upgrading, including language skills.

Caregivers and migrant groups have been calling for PR status upon arrival since the 1990s. Unfortunately, this has not been granted despite the high demand for caregivers. There were almost 17,000 temporary work permit holders working as live-in caregivers as of 2013, according to data from the Employment and Social Development Canada (http://www.esdc.gc.ca/eng/jobs/foreign_workers/reform/overhauling_TFW.pdf).