Read Josarie’s story and Take Action Now!

Josarie Danieles has been separated from her daughter Precious Ann for seven years. Seven painful years of missed birthdays, family holidays, and touching screens rather than hugging her child.

Josarie came to Canada and worked as a Caregiver. She has fulfilled all the requirements in the Live-In Caregiver Program, and should have been granted permanent residency. But she is being denied because Immigration Canada believes her daughter would cause an ‘excessive demand’ on the health care system.

Right now, a Federal Parliamentary Committee is looking into this issue.

The discriminatory sections of the Immigration Act, Section 38(1)(a) and 38(1)(c) need to be overturned immediately. This is a first step. Disability is just one of the grounds under which hundreds of thousand of people are either forced to work, study or live in Canada temporarily or are denied permanent residency. We need fundamental immigration overhaul and that means full permanent residency status for all migrants now, and on arrival for those coming in the future.

The clock is ticking. Let’s make sure Josarie celebrates Precious’s next birthday with her, sign your name: http://migrantrights.ca/en/nodiscrimination/

PLEASE SHARE!

Do you need legal information? Join us November 18th!

ARE YOU A CAREGIVER?

Do you have questions about the Caregiver Program, New rules for PR applications, work permits, LMIA? Is your boss not paying you enough wages? Were you terminated for no reason?

COME AND GET SUPPORT!

FREE LEGAL INFORMATION SESSION
1-on-1 legal support, learn about your rights and meet other caregivers!

Saturday November 18th, 2017, 12-4pm,
at 720 Spadina Avenue, Suite 202

**TTC Tokens and food provided.
Please email if you need childcare, and let us know about any foo restrictions you may have

CAC Summer Hours

Caregivers Action Centre (CAC) runs a hotline for Migrant Caregivers across Ontario: 647-782-6633. If you are a caregiver, you can call this hotline if you have questions about your rights at work, your immigration status, health care access, or other social supports. You can also call us if you would like to get more involved with CAC!

Over the summer starting June 17th, our hotline will be open Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, 12-5pm. If you are a caregiver and you require support, you can also send an email to sharmeen@migrantworkersalliance.org. For general inquiries about CAC’s campaigns or how to get involved, please email us at info@caregiversactioncentre.org.

If you require urgent emotional support, you can call the Gerstein Centre’s 24-hour a day crisis hotline at 416-929-5200.

Have a happy and healthy summer, caregiver friends!

Happy International Domestic Workers Day

Migrant caregivers mark this day by speaking out

International Domestic Workers Day, June 16, celebrates the 2011 passage of the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 189 for Decent Work for Domestic Workers. Domestic workers from around the world came together to fight to establish this international law for domestic workers.

This landslide victory represented an historic step forward towards domestic work being recognized as work like any other, and establishing fundamental labor protections.

To date, Canada still has not ratified this convention for decent work for domestic workers.

Since the early 1900s when women began migrating to Canada to work as caregivers, we have been organizing. And we will continue organizing until Canada ratifies ILO Convention 189, until caregivers have permanent residency status upon arrival, and until all caregivers are treated with respect and dignity.

Hear from caregivers calling for PR on arrival, fair wages, decent work and respect in this video, featuring Caregivers‘ Action Centre members and produced by a CAC member!

Join the call for Permanent Residency! Sign our petition here.

BREAKING NEWS: WE JUST WON A $15 MINIMUM WAGE!!!

Thanks to the organizing of the Fight for $15 & Fairness campaign, we just won a $15 Minimum Wage in Ontario!

This is a huge victory that was only possible because of workers just like you who have been bravely speaking out against low wages and unfair working conditions. AND … we still have a lot of work to do to make decent wages, dignity, and fairness at the workplace realities for all.

Details of the announcement

$15 Minimum Wage The minimum wage will increase to $14 by January 2018, then $15 by January 2019. This minimum wage will apply to almost all adult workers – that includes you, caregivers!! BUT…farm workers still do not have access to minimum wage protections. We need to pressure Ontario politicians to make sure that everyone has access to a basic floor of rights.

Personal Emergency Leave This means that a worker who needs to take time off for any kind of emergency or illness is entitled to a minimum of 10 days of Emergency Leave, with 2 of those days paid. Starting January 1, 2018.

Unionizing Unfortunately, migrant workers were not mentioned at all in the government’s announcement today. Specifically, they did not make any changes that would allow for migrant caregivers and migrant farm workers to unionize. That means we have to push even harder to get them to listen to our demands that caregivers and farm workers should be able to organize into unions.

Enforcement The Ministry of Labour is increasing their staff to handle complaints filed by workers under the Employment Standards Act. They are also forcing employers to pay interest on stolen wages, as well as on illegally charged recruitment fees. But they could be doing more! We need proactive enforcement and protections for migrant workers.

What Can I Do?

Call or write your MPP

Your MPP is the Member of Provincial (Ontario) Parliament who represents your neighbourhood, also known as your “electoral riding.” To find a list of MPPs, go here. To find out which electoral riding you are in, enter your address here.

Here are some ideas of what you could say to your MPP:
Hi, my name is [name is optional] ___________________________and I live in your riding of _______________________________.

I am calling because I am excited about the changes to Ontario’s labour laws announced by Premier Kathleen Wynne, in particular the $15 Minimum Wage, the Personal Emergency Leave, and the increased fines for employers who violate workers’ rights.

I work with migrant workers who are some of the most precarious workers in this labour market, and know very well that migrant workers need specific protections. While we are optimistic, we also urge you to consider that there is room to extend protections to all workers, including migrant workers. We hope that you will help us by proposing these changes to any upcoming legislation.

$15 Minimum wage for ALL. That means no exemptions from minimum wages for agricultural workers or anyone else.
Right to Unionize. We need to remove all exemptions and allow everyone to have access to a union. All workers, including migrant caregivers and farm workers, should be able to form unions.
Enforcement. We need better, more proactive enforcement when employers break the law. We need inspections of the homes that caregivers live and work in. We need a faster process for resolving Employment Standards Act anti-reprisal claims when workers are at risk of being sent back home, and temporary permits while their claims are being processed.

Contact your local news outlets

There is going to be back-lash from the business community about the $15 minimum wage, and we need to counteract this with our words of why these changes (and more!) are necessary. Write a piece for your community newspaper, or write a letter to the editor for the Toronto Star at lettertoed@thestar.ca or the Globe and Mail at Letters@globeandmail.com about why you think a $15 minimum wage is a good thing! If you need inspiration, see the $15&Fairness website.

Get involved!

If you would like to get more involved with the Caregivers’ Action Centre and campaigns like this one, please send us an email info@caregiversactioncentre.org.

Join CAC on May 13th!

Are you a Caregiver? You deserve care too! Join CAC on May 13th for an afternoon of free workshops, food, and good company!

Join CAC for a Free Legal Clinic!

Do you have questions about your rights at work, or about your pathway to permanent residency? Join us!

Saturday, March 11th, 10:00am – 3:00pm

720 Spadina Avenue, Suite 202, Toronto

Attend free workshops about health care access, the immigration process, and your rights at work. Share stories and information with other caregivers, and meet one-on-one with a lawyer for free legal information.

Schedule
Feel free to drop in for a portion of the day or stay for the whole day. Some workshops will happen at the same time as individual meetings with lawyers

10:00 am – 11:00 am
Coffee, snacks, welcome, introduction: who is CAC and what do we do?
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Workshop: Navigating the Immigration system as a caregiver
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm
One-on-one meetings with lawyers
12:00 pm – 12:30 pm
Lunch
12:30 pm – 2:00 pm
Workshop by OHIP for All: Accessing quality health care, with or without OHIP
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Focus Group: the government changed the caregiver program in 2014. We want to hear from you about how this program is or is not working, and what we can do to change it

To attend, please RSVP to info@caregiversactioncentre.org. You can also call or text us at 647-782-6633. In your RSVP, please let us know if you will need to meet with a lawyer.

TTC Tokens, snacks and lunch will be provided. If you need childcare or have any other needs that we can help you with, please contact us in advance.

Please note: this clinic is for caregivers only. If you are already working with a lawyer, you are welcome to attend the workshops but please do not book an appointment with a lawyer.

We recognize and regret that this event coincides with International Women’s Day activities. We will try to wrap up as early as possible and head over there together!

Let’s WIN Open Work Permits for caregivers NOW!

On January 30th, the Federal government is set to announce new policies for migrant workers, including caregivers. Whether these laws are good or bad is up to you.

Email the Ministers right now to create open permits for migrant workers. We have only until January 30th. We have made a very simple tool which will take you just one minute to contact them. Click right now to email and tweet.

EMAIL THE MINISTERS
TWEET
Of all the injustices that migrant workers face, one of the most brutal is that many of us are tied to our bosses. Under Canadian laws, tied work permits make it so many caregivers can only work for one employer at one location. It’s almost impossible to leave a job, even if we are facing abuse or the job is making us sick. Here’s what Caregiver, Comfort Sister, has to say:

“When I lost my job, I was kicked out of the house with nowhere to go. Since then, I have not worked because I’m afraid that if I work for another employer, I will be deported. I do not have money, I left my family back home, I have my children’s school fees to pay. The government needs to hear all of this. We want open work permits so that we do not have to be afraid or stuck anymore.”

Being tied to one employer means many migrant workers live in misery. There are farm workers who are not allowed bathroom breaks as they sweat in the fields and greenhouses, working with pesticides without safety equipment. As you know, there are Caregivers working 14 hour days but are being paid for only six.

This isn’t fair. Employer tied work work permits are unjust. They must stop. We have less than a week to make it so.

On January 30th, the Federal Government will respond to a Parliamentary Committee report on migrant workers. The report has recommended that the Minister “take immediate steps to eliminate the requirement for an employer-specific work permit”. Email the Employment Minister Patricia Hajdu today and and tell her to do the right thing. Insist on open work permits for all migrant workers. Tell your friends to do the same.

Just two weeks ago, our collective action stopped Gina Bahiwal’s deportation. As she said, “this is a victory for all migrant workers, however the fight is not over yet. Myself and the other workers are going to continue to organize and to fight against the injustices of our immigration where we are tied to a single employer. The only solution is permanent immigration status on arrival for all temporary foreign workers”. Let’s continue the struggle.

Email the Ministers right now: http://migrantrights.ca/en/take-action/#email

Share this campaign on FACEBOOK

We won! 4-and-4 repealed! Let’s win status for all.

Since 2009, migrant worker groups along with you have organized against the 4-and-4 rule, as part of a broader campaign for open work permits and permanent status on landing.

SHARE ON FACEBOOK | SIGN OUR PETITION

The 4-and-4 rule required migrant workers to leave after four years of cumulative employment and banned them from returning for four years. Over 15 cities organized protest and actions in March 2015 as a lead up to the imposition of the 4-and-4 rule which uprooted tens of thousands of migrant workers, and caused mass deportations. Nearly 4,000 people signed petitions. Since October 2015, the Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada (CMWRC) has campaigned for the overturn of this rule and permanent status on landing.

While this is an important step, we need more than repealing and tinkering. We need a total overhaul of the system which begins with ensuring permanent status on landing for migrant workers now and a regularization program for workers who stayed and became undocumented.

In the announcement, the Federal Government promised to expand ‘pathways to citizenship’. The Coalition for Migrant Worker Rights Canada (CMWRC) believes that ‘pathways’ are a euphemism for maintaining unjust temporariness for low-waged and racialized workers. A pathway is a two stage process, where migrant workers must first complete a temporary sentence of abuse and injustice before a few are selected to compete for permanent status. Low-waged and racialized people deemed to be doing ‘low-skilled’ work deserve permanent status on landing, just as much as those deemed to be doing ‘high skilled’ work.

Migrant workers from across Canada called for a repeal of the 4-and-4 rule and most importantly permanent status on landing in the recent review of the Temporary Foreign Workers Program in Ottawa. In the meantime, we continue to fight for open work permits for migrant workers.

CAC Holiday Closures and Emergency Contact Information

Caregivers’ Action Centre will be closed for the holidays on Thursday, December 22nd, 2016. We will re-open on Tuesday, January 3rd, 2017. During that time, the CAC phone line will not be open.

If you are in need of support for a problem at work, please call the Ontario Ministry of Labour at 1-800-531-5551.

If you are in need of urgent emotional support over the holidays, please call the Gerstein Centre’s 24 hour a day hotline, at: 416-929-5200. If you require immediate support for violence at home or in your workplace, please call the 24 hour a day Assaulted Women’s hotline 1.866.863.0511. For a list of other services across Ontario, please call 211 or visit their website.
Wishing you all a restful holiday. We look forward to working for change together in the New Year!

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