Wage Theft Continues: Two Live-In Caregivers Owed Over $350,000 in Unpaid Wages and Wrongful Dismissal

The Worker's Action Centre has released a new video as part of its "Stop Wage Theft" Campaign in Ontario that was launched in May. The entire press release is available here.

Lilliane and Vivian worked as caregivers and faced unpaid wages, long hours and no overtime. They were forced to take court action to recover over $217,000 in unpaid wages and over $137,000 for wrongful dismissal. This is wage theft.

Recently, Lilliane and Vivian spoke out publicly against wage theft at and press conference. Their stories were featured in a front page Toronto Star article and in widespread media coverage. The Minister of Labour was forced to respond publicly.

Many caregivers give up their lives to care for other people's children and elderly or ill family members. And unfortunately, it's an all too common reality that they don't get paid for excess hours and other basic entitlements under the law. Through actions like Lilliane and Vivian's the Workers' Action Centre's campaign is building momentum. Click here to watch Lilliane and Vivian tell their stories about standing up against wage theft for all caregivers in the latest Stop Wage Theft Video.

Click here to read our past blog post about Lilliane and Vivian's story.

Go to the Workers' Action Centre.

Government pledges to help workers cheated by employers

Workers who have been victims of “wage theft” and other workplace mistreatment must not be afraid to come forward, Ontario Labour Minister Charles Sousa said Monday.

“I say this to those that are feeling intimidated: Call the ministry,” Sousa said in response to a report about two nannies who together are owed more than $200,000 in unpaid wages, overtime and holiday pay from their employers.

“We will react and we will ensure that their issues are covered and do everything in our power to protect them,” Sousa said.

Read the full story in the Toronto Star

Caregiver sues former employer, claiming $162,000 in lost wages

At 21, Lilliane Namukasa left Uganda to make a new life in Canada as a live-in caregiver for two small children.

But after working full-time for two years, she was paid just $2,100 by her Brampton employer and then fired without cause, forcing her into a homeless shelter, Namukasa says in a claim filed in Ontario Superior Court.

This is despite an employment contract that entitled Namukasa to receive approximately $22,000 a year, before taxes, minus $2,860 for room and board, she says in the claim.

Namukasa is seeking $162,000 for breach of contract and unpaid wages, statutory holiday pay and vacation pay. She is further claiming $33,000 for wrongful dismissal.

The allegations have not been proved in court.

The Workers’ Action Centre, a non-profit worker-based organization, says the case is one more example of wage theft faced by Ontario’s most vulnerable workers.

The centre, which is holding a Queen’s Park news conference Monday, is highlighting Namukasa’s plight and that of another live-in caregiver, as part of its campaign to beef up the province’s outdated Employment Standards Act.

“Workers should not be forced to take court action to recover unpaid wages, overtime and other employment standards entitlements,” says the centre’s coordinator Deena Ladd.

Read the article in the Toronto Star
Go to the Workers' Action Centre

Migrant workers getting help

Local migrant workers could harvest some workplace improvements if an area legal agency has its way.

The Community Advocacy and Legal Clinic (CALC) has arranged with the Law Commission of Ontario to hold two consultations — one with service providers such as the Quinte United Immigrant Services and Hastings County Ontario Works and the other with vulnerable workers — to discuss the nuances of labour law and the enforcement of those laws might be improved to help workers who are vulnerable due to economic status, income level, gender, age and disability.

The closed consultation sessions began Wednesday. The sessions are aimed at providing input to the law commission to help tighten some sections and even loopholes in labour law as it pertains to vulnerable employees such as migrant workers.

Read the full story: Intelligencer

Read more about the Vulnerable Workers project from the Law Commission of Ontario

2010-2011 Migrant Farm Worker Report Published

Report finds federal government complicit in Canada’s abuse of migrant farm workers

Canada’s most comprehensive annual report on the challenges facing migrant farm workers has been released. It confirms that abuse and exploitation of migrant farm workers are rampant in Canada’s agriculture industry.

The 2010-2011 Status of Migrant Farm Workers in Canada report is published by UFCW Canada and the Agriculture Workers Alliance (AWA). For more than two decades UFCW Canada has been a leading advocate for farm workers' rights, and in association with the AWA operates 10 agriculture worker support centres across Canada.

For the full report visit UFCW

Migrant Workers Protest on Thanksgiving

Justicia for Migrant Workers is organizing a march this Thanksgiving weekend to draw attention to the working conditions that many temporary foreign workers face while working in Ontario.

For more information about this march, please read this Toronto Star article.

Migrant Worker Deaths Spark Protests

On Wednesday, September 22, 2010, The Toronto Star reported on the workplace deaths of Paul Roach and Ralston White at an apple farm in Ontario. Both of these individuals were seasonal migrant farm workers from Jamaica.

The deaths of these two men further highlights the importance of workplace health and safety programs. A protest is scheduled to be held today at 12:00 at the Ontario Ministry of Labour to highlight the issues faced by migrant workers.

Few aware of labour rights in Toronto’s Chinatown

Exploitation typical in other immigrant communities, labour activists say.
Read the Full Article on the Toronto Star

Changes Proposed to Federal Temporary Foreign Worker Program

This past weekend, the Canadian government proposed regulatory amendments to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. These changes include:

• a more rigorous assessment of the genuineness of the job offer;
• limits to the length of a worker’s stay in Canada before returning home; and
• a two-year prohibition from hiring a temporary foreign worker for employers found to have provided significantly different wages, working conditions or occupations than promised

Employers who are prohibited from hiring temporary foreign workers will be listed on the Citizenship and Immigration Website http://www.cic.gc.ca. For more information, see the official press release.