The fight for justice for the Mushroom 4 workers continues

The fight for justice for the Mushroom 4 workers continues

The press conference held last year by J4M4 in Toronto.
(File copy)

Amidst covid-19

October 30 2020

While Canadians are preoccupied with how to cope with the  COVID 19 pandemic, four migrant workers are inconspicuously struggling to seek justice and fighting for their right to status.

In 2019, four mushroom workers –  Marisol Bobadilla, Mac Ceguera, Lourdes de la Pena and Jessie Veneranda – came out in the open after years of exploitation and abuse, filing a lawsuit against Jeanet Moskito, owner and manager of Link4Staff Inc.  They filed a civil lawsuit in order to recover stolen wages and other damages. “Justice for Mushroom 4! Justice for all Migrant Workers” or J4M4 then came into existence to expose the unscrupulous practices of employment agencies in Canada and  push for policy change that will better protect migrant workers from further exploitation by recruitment agencies. Currently in Ontario, the rights of migrant workers against illegal recruitment practices are protected under the Employment Protection For Foreign Nationals Act (EPFNA). The campaign also exposes the role of the Philippine government in systematically exporting overseas Filipino workers while using recruitment agencies as brokers.

Since the J4M4 campaign became public knowledge, migrant workers, advocates, trade unions and community organizations have offered their support to the workers and their cause. J4M4 workers have been invited to speak in various conferences, forums and gatherings to share their experiences and call on the Province of Ontario to ensure better protection for migrant workers in the province. Within a year and half, the campaign organizers had collected over a thousand signatures to petition the provincial government to enact proactive legislation on migrant recruitment. The J4M4 has also been involved, with other migrants’ groups, in the Status For All Campaign that seeks to give permanent residence status to all migrant workers. On a broader scale, the campaign contributed to the discussion of labor trafficking in Canada as a national issue that requires the attention of policymakers at the federal level.

Under COVID-19 conditions, unemployment has increased and government response to adapting immigration and social policies to the needs of migrant workers has been sorely lacking. Under these circumstances, we know that recruitment agencies such as Link4Staff are taking full advantage of the workers’ urgent need for employment. In the case of J4M4, Link4Staff is delaying the settlement conference and asking for unreasonable adjustments to the original claims of the workers.

Meanwhile, the Philippine government has grossly mishandled its COVID-19 response to Overseas Filipino workers. Instead of providing government assistance, it has further exacerbated the conditions of the OFWs by imposing an additional burden through the mandatory PhilHealth contribution and premium increase. For its part, the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency has failed to act on the request of Migrante and J4M4 to remove the accreditation of Link4Staff agency. While the workers continue to keep the economy afloat, the treatment of OFWs has remained business as usual.

Migrante Ontario calls on the Canadian government to uphold its international commitment to protect migrant workers. Immediately, we call on the Duterte administration to address the standing issue of illegal recruitment of the Philippines.

We will continue to organize our kababayans and expose the deceitful and blatantly exploitative practices of Link4Staff and other similar agencies. For as long as unemployment, chronic poverty, and landlessness in the Philippines are not genuinely addressed, the decades-long exploitation of Filipino people will persist. We call on our kababayans to unite with other marginalized sectors of society to struggle for national industrialization and genuine agrarian reform in the Philippines.

(PRESS RELEASE)