Migrants coalition presses Trudeau for ‘real change’

Migrants coalition presses Trudeau for ‘real change’

Panel, from left: Pet Cleto (MIGRANTE); Lawyer Fay Faraday; Luvy Alicbusab (caregiver from the Philippines); Mariyah Fitriyanti (caregiver from Indonesia); Syed Hussan (MWAC); Pablo Goloy (UFCW). PHOTOS: V. SILVA

Asks for immediate open work permits, scrapping of ‘four-in, four-out’

By Veronica C. Silva

A newly formed coalition composed of migrants and workers’ groups across Canada has launched a campaign calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to be true to his campaign promises.

Called the Coalition for Migrant Workers Rights-Canada (CMWRC), the group held a press conference on Oct. 28 to remind Trudeau, who campaigned on a platform for so-called “real change,” to make some immediate changes to the country’s migrant workers’ policies.

The founding members of the coalition are Cooper Institute (PEI), Migrant Workers Alliance for Change (MWAC), Migrante Canada, Radical Coalition with Migrants in Agriculture (Okanagan Valley), Temporary Foreign Workers Association (Que.), Temporary Foreigner Workers Coalition in Alberta, and the Vancouver Committee for Domestic Workers and Caregiver Rights.

Member-groups of the coalition held simultaneous press conferences in Toronto, Charlottetown, Edmonton, Alberta, Montreal and Vancouver to launch MoVE, a campaign for Mobility, Voice and Equality for Migrant Workers.

“The Justin Trudeau Liberals have promised real change. We’re here to say that migrant workers deserve real change too. Particularly, migrant workers in this economy need real change,” said Syed Hussan, MWAC coordinator.

Hussan said a systemic change to migrant workers’ policies is needed as it is “extremely complicated, extremely confusing.” But the group said they want Trudeau to start changes that are “simple and pragmatic.”

“Those first changes are open work permits and an end to exclusion that shut migrant workers out,” he added.

One of the policies that the coalition wants changed is the nicknamed four-and-four rule. Introduced in 2011, the policy limits TFWs to work in Canada for only four years after which they have to leave Canada. They can come back to work in Canada but only after four years.

Migrants groups also reiterated their demand for permanent residency status upon arrival.

“Status on landing, which is what we really need, we know, will take a little bit of time, but we also need to get there and we also need to get there fast,” said Hussan.

Lawyer Fay Faraday

Human rights and constitutional lawyer Fay Faraday, who has authored reports on the precariousness of work conditions of temporary foreign workers, said while the long-term goal of permanency is being worked on, their two immediate demands can “relieve the pressure that drives some of the most exploitative (work) practices.”

She said a work permit tied to a specific employer with specific conditions “creates an enormous amount of imbalance of power between the employer and recruiter, on the one hand, and workers on the other.”

If employers abuse this power, Faraday said “there’s nothing that workers can do to stand up for their rights. If they (workers) complain about their treatment, they are routinely threatened with deportation, terminated and rendered homeless.”

On hand at the Toronto press conference were representatives from caregiver group Caregivers’ Action Center (CAC), the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), Migrante Ontario, and Migrante Canada.

Two caregivers joined the press conference to share their stories of struggles and demand permanent status upon arrival.

Mariyah Fitriyanti

Mariyah Fitriyanti, a caregiver from Indonesia and member of CAC, now holds an open work permit but not before she has had intermittent work, sometimes rendering her jobless for up to seven months while waiting for the next tied work permit. She narrated that there was even an instance when she was working up to 60 hours per week but was either not getting paid, or was underpaid. But she said she endured such work conditions so that she can complete the required months before she can apply for an open work permit and PR status for herself and her family.

The story of Luvy Alicbusab of Laguna, Philippines, a caregiver and a member of Migrante Ontario, was no different. Fighting back tears, Alicbusab narrated that she left behind her four kids in the Philippines to try out her luck abroad, first in Hong Kong before moving to Canada in 2008. After working for several employers, she finally qualified to apply for permanent residency for herself and her family, but in 2015 her application was denied because her 18-year-old son has been deemed medically inadmissible.

“This is most unfair for me, first of all, because I have worked here for almost seven years now and contributed to Canada’s society and have been paying taxes all the while,” said Alicbusab.

Luvy Alicbusab

She pressed on Canada to fulfill its promise of family reunification that is part of the caregiver program. “If the promises of the live-in caregiver program to migrant workers like me are not fulfilled, then the sad ending to our story only proves that migrant workers are just like commodities to the Canadian government, and the government thinks that we can just be disposed off when we’re no longer needed,” she said.

For its part, Migrante Canada urged the Trudeau government to look into recent trade agreements inked by the previous Conservative government.

Pet Cleto, speaking on behalf of Migrante Canada, said such agreements, including the recently signed Trans-Pacific Partnership, might all the more increase Asia’s dependence on Canada, resulting in poverty for some Asian countries. Worse, Cleto said this could result in increasing the number of overseas migrant workers.

On the coalition’s website at MigrantRights.ca, others are urged to sign a petition supporting their cause.

MWAC member organizations include the Alliance of South Asian Aid Prevention, Asian Community Aids Services, Caregivers Action Centre, Fuerza Puwersa, Industrial Accident Victims’ Group of Ontario, Justicia for Migrant Workers, Legal Assistance of Windsor, Migrante Ontario, No One Is Illegal – Toronto, Parkdale Community Legal Services, Social Planning Toronto, South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario, Unifor, UFCW, Workers’ Action Centre and Workers United.