Press Release

FILIPINO-CANADIAN WORKERS URGE GOVERNMENT TO FIX EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS AND LABOUR LAW

By Angela Zhu, ( Communications, Toronto & York Region Labour Council)
Emailed for posting by Paulina Corpuz
Toronto-Canada
July 1, 2015



“Proactive enforcement of the ESA is crucial,” suggests Corpuz. “The current system is flawed, because the government expects workers to raise labour violations, which means they risk being punished by the employer by being fired. Even if they are allowed to stay in their jobs, there will be a certain tension between them and the employer.”

Educating workers about their rights was also proposed by Corpuz in his report, with
emphasis on the availability of multilingual options.

“Most newcomer workers do not understand their rights under the Employment Standards
Act,” Corpuz noted. “The contract they sign, if there is one, is often not followed; their EI and CPP are not paid. They do not receive a paystub. At the end of the year, these workers are required to file taxes, and they end up paying their employers’ share of the EI and the CPP – because they weren’t aware of their rights.”

Josh Cuasay, a former live-in caregiver and hotel room attendant, shared her personal story.

Like many other Filipino immigrants to who find work in non-unionized hotels, Cuasay’s story included horrific employment practices.

“Under the previous owner at the hotel where I work, we were treated so badly. We were not given any vacation pay or holidays. There was no sick leave. There were no benefits,” recounts Cuasay. “Some of us were forced to clean the owner’s or the manager’s houses. Others were forced to clean other buildings that belonged to the owner. Those who were injured at work were simply thrown aside. We had no rights at all.”

Cuasay also described how one of her co-workers, who had formerly been employed by a
unionized hotel, had attempted to give her a phone number to reach the union. The employer at that hotel discovered this, however, and Cuasay’s co-worker was promptly fired. “This is what happens all the time,” Cuasay lamented, “but no one seems able to do anything about it.”

The story of Cuasay highlights the need for reforms of the Labour Relations Act to protect workers who try to unionize.

One success story, observed Corpuz, can be found in the Workplace Safety & Insurance Board.

“The WSIB successfully became an enforcement regime that made both the independent
contractors and the client-owner accountable for health and safety practices in the
workplace.” Corpuz recommends that the same model can be applied to the ESA.
Of Canada’s estimated 700,000 Filipino residents, approximately 40% live and work in the Greater Toronto Area. It is crucial that the ESA and Labour Law be updated to protect these workers, who are disproportionately disadvantaged by the lack of worker protections in Ontario.