Philippine Government Included Addendum In Contract For Live In Caregiver Program In Canada
The Toronto office of Philippine Overseas Labor Office have made additions in the contract for the live in caregiver program for nannies bound for Canada. This was announced early April by the labor attache of the Philippines in Toronto. This program, which started in 1992, allows participants to earn an immigrant status after completing 24 months with an employer within a period of 3 years. Thousands of Filipinos have entered Canada since the inception of the live in caregiver program – most of them have become immigrants and later, citizens of Canada.
According to the press release given out by labor attache, Frank Luna, the newly imposed addendum is necessary for the good of the foreign worker. Reports of abuse by employers and the highly irregular recruitment activities of some recruitment agencies – which have placed many of this mostly women Filipino caregiver, in difficult situations, are the main reason this new additions became necessary according to Mr. Luna.
Caregiver support groups and advocates of changes in the live in caregiver program have not voiced their opinion just yet regarding this development. This Filipino caregiver group are advocating for scrapping of the live-in caregiver program, which includes in the condition a live-in clause for the worker in the homes of their employer. The group is asking instead for changes in status from temporary worker to that of a landed immigrant, immediately upon arriving in Canada.
On the other hand, immigration consultants and employment agencies are protesting this addendum supposedly because it will just add cost to the existing program which at the moment already have enough rules to safeguard the caregivers in Canada. They’re reasoning out that Canada have already in place thru Service Canada and HRSDC rules on procedure for employers to sponsor foreign workers – which is parallel to the live in caregiver program.
They added that, other than the additional payment the Philippine government is imposing to process this new contract, that the said document has no teeth even if the Canadian employer reneged on what they signed on, supposedly because no Canadian law will be broken and the Philippines have no jurisdiction over them.
[...] live-in caregiver program Canada allows trained caregivers to find temporary employment in Canada and eventually become permanent [...]
I came to Canada under the LCP twice. Both times I was fortunate enough to have found Canadian employers who, after much communication, and building relationship of trust, decided to trust me enough to hire me directly.
The hardest part for Filipinos who are hoping to come to Canada under the Live-in Caregiver Program is finding a Canadian employer willing to hire, sponsor and wait for them.
With this new LCP Contract, demanding Canadian employers to take more monetary obligations just to hire a Filipino live-in caregiver from the Philippines,who is a stranger to them, will be a huge discouragement and “turn-off” for the possible employers. Thus, making it harder for hope-full Filipino caregivers in the Philippines to get hired. Mr Frank Luna might have good intentions for the Filipino workers but this move is unrealistic, unproductive and down right foolish!
Yes i agree that the addendum is just a hindrance for the filipino caregivers..caregivers in canada are already protected by the canadian law..the new policy of the POLO is just abig problem for the filipino caregivers..if the employer dont want to sign the addendum, why is the action of the POLO on this?convince the employer to sign?what if the employer still dont wanna sign & just replace the caregiver?the filipino caregiver cant do anything about this if their employer is not willing to agree with all the conditions in the addendum.
what is the action of POLO if the employer doesnt want to sign the addendum?i guess the POLO will say, we reget to inform u but the Philippine Govt has a policy and the employer must comply to this..so, if the employer wont comply & just cancel the contract & get a caregiver from other countries or they’ll just get caregivers inside canada?can the POLO give the filipino caregivers a new job?can they replace all the expenses incurred by the caregiver on the application of the visa?caregivers in canada are already protected by the canadian law..i hope the POLO will understand the situation of the caregivers..sponsoring a caregiver by a canadian employer is already a big help for filipino caregivers..asking them to sign the addendum is too much..addendum will only lessen the opportunity for filipino caregivers to get hired.
the wording of the entire addendum is wrong and very poorly written. as an employer who has recently been asked to sign this document i am outraged. frank luna wont even provide me with any explanations…
you think he will admit that his addendum is a screw up?
This has been a disaster for our potential nanny. After she got her visa and quit her job in one town and moved her kids to another, she finds out that she can’t leave the country. Now I am put on the spot. Signing the addendum is essentially signing a “blank cheque”. The financial liability the employer is assuming is easily more than $15,000. They do not even accept that you would buy insurance for this types of things. They want the employer to be actually personally responsible for every last dime. I don’t have that kind of money. Meanwhile this lady’s life is upside down and we don’t have a nanny.
Frankly, if their government officials are this unreasonable, it scares me even more to have any association with them. At least with Canadian government you know exactly where you stand and the laws are actually logical.
The Philippine Overseas Labor Office wants to protect filipino workers but most of the filipino caregivers come from Hong kong or Europe. The visa processing time in Manila is currently about 18 months.This is too long for standard Canadian family – most of them need help immediately and are willing to wait only a few months.
YES, I AGREE THAT THIS ADDENDUM IS JUST ADDITIONAL BURDEN TO BOTH APPLICANT AND EMPLOYER BECAUSE IT IS NOT REALLY CLEAR THE PURPOSE AND HOW GENUINE THEY WILL REALLY VERIFY AS THAY SAY THEY WILL VERIFY IF THOSE EMPLOYERS ARE REAL.