Caregivers deplore new program
Caregivers deplore new program
KRISTINA TORRES
Claim there are more bad than good in the Conservative reforms.
Conservative Party denies high rates of caregiver applications, says on track to admitting 60,000 caregivers in over 2 years. NDP says it will allow permanent applications upon arrival, wants to remove caps on PR applications.
By Veronica C. Silva
Caregivers recently deplored the Conservative government’s new caregiver program which was introduced late last year.
Caregivers led by the Caregivers Action Centre said that instead of protecting caregivers from abuse, the new program has imposed many barriers to job security.
The Conservative government last year overhauled the live-in caregiver (LIC) program, which attracts many of our kababayans (compatriots) to Canada. Among the changes include the live-in component becoming optional, two pathways to permanent residency and limits to the number of caregivers that can be admitted to the program.
But in a press conference last August 30, the CAC read a statement saying: “Today, the Filipino and immigrant community is calling on (Immigration and Citizenship Minister) Chris Alexander for repeatedly lying to us and promising caregivers improvements but secretly shutting them out.”
The CAC cited data which they said were gathered from Access to Information requests indicating that from January to March 2015, “90 per cent of Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIA) applications for caregivers were rejected,” read CAC coordinator Karina Francisco from a prepared statement.
An LMIA is a required document to enable a foreign caregiver to work in Canada. The LMIA is filed by an employer wanting to hire a caregiver, and it costs $1,000 to file an LMIA.
Caregivers who end their contracts with their employers – to escape from abusive situations in some instances — before getting permanent residency will need to find another employer who has an approved LMIA.
The CAC also alleged that “these secretive changes are effectively locking caregivers into abusive jobs. … Workers are left in limbo, facing huge barriers to new employment.”
“(Conservative Party Leader Stephen) Harper is touring out churches, temples and mosques, posing as a friend to immigrants while secretly making it harder for our families to stay healthy and together,” said Francisco.
But on behalf of all migrant workers, the caregivers are also calling out to political parties this federal election campaign season.
“We are asking all political parties to make a stand for permanent immigration status upon arrival for caregivers and all migrant workers,” added Francisco.
At the press conference, Kristina Torres, a caregiver since September 2012, said she has already been laid off twice. She said her status is currently in limbo while she’s waiting for the approval of an LMIA.
Waiting for the approval of an LMIA “has put me in a difficult situation because I can’t work yet until I can get a positive LMIA. It has put me in a trap. I don’t know what to do. I got terminated with no just cause from a very abusive environment,” she added.
Fighting back tears, Torres tried to detail her predicament.
“When you have this hope that you’ll get permanent residency but then you experience abuse in your workplace and you get terminated, it’s really hard,” said Torres.
TETA BAYAN
Equally in an unfortunate situation is Teta Bayan, who has a nursing background but had to pay $3,500 and $2,000 to land as a caregiver in Canada in 2012 only to be released upon arrival, meaning there was never any job offer at all having paid huge fees.
“I was instantly unemployed,” said Bayan, who then has had to work with three employers as she fights for her rights.
“One of them fired me because I refused to work on holidays without a holiday pay rate,” she added. Another employer fired Bayan allegedly for not allowing her to take sick days off. Worse, she said she was being made to pay for a reliever at a higher rate. Still, another prospective employer didn’t complete the paper work for the LMIA but made her wait for months.
With her voice cracking as she tries to fight back tears, Bayan emotionally called for fair treatment of caregivers to avoid being caught in a “trap.” “I strongly believe that caregivers should be given permanent status upon arrival to eliminate discrimination, and we need an open work permit for those who are currently here and trapped by the program,” Bayan added.
Torres said “the changes (to the caregiver program) didn’t do anything for us; it just made it worse. Finding an employer is hard enough… willing to do all the process. Wages cannot support the live out condition so it made it worse.” Franciso added that Alexander’s promise of an overhaul of the program to protect caregivers and reduce family separation “clearly has put caregivers in a more vulnerable situation because of the difficulties of getting LMIAs.”
“Minister Chris Alexander and his overhaul of the program has largely resulted in broken promises, and we believe that the only solution to the precariousness and abuse that migrant workers experience is for permanent residency status upon arrival.”
In response, the Conservative Party issued a statement denying the alleged high rate of rejections of LMIAs.
“Under the improved Caregiver Programs, 90 per cent of all completed Labour Market Impact Assessment applications have in fact been approved – contrary to what was cited by conference attendees (last August 30),” the statement read.
“In addition, our government is on track to meet our commitment of admitting 60,000 caregivers over 2 years (2015 and 2016). This is the highest level of admissions for caregivers in Canadian history.”
In an emailed statement to The Philippine Reporter, the NDP said “we will allow LIC’s to apply for PR the moment they arrive in Canada.”
Last December, NDP Critic for Employment and Social Development Jinny Sims introduced a motion in Parliament to remove the caps on PR applications for live-in caregivers.
“These caps to permanent resident applications are arbitrary and they target the Filipino community here in Canada,” said Sims. “I’m calling on Conservatives and Liberals to put their politics aside and support my motion to remove these unfair caps.”
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