By Carolyn Snaychuk, Chair, AFL Women's Committee

As we approach and celebrate Labour Day, we are fortunate to benefit from the achievements unions have made on behalf of workers, but we also need to acknowledge the work of those who lack the protection that unions have to offer. There are many hard working people in Canada who are taken advantage of each and every day by their employers. People that we, in organized labour, don’t often hear about, until something goes wrong.

A prime example of this is the exploitation of Ms. Leticia Cables, who came to Edmonton in 1995 from the Philippines to work as a nanny under the Live-in Caregiver Program. Her contract entitled her to receive full time employment for two years with a monthly rate of pay of $1,080 out of which $300 would be deducted for room and board, as well as further deductions for income tax, employment insurance and CPP.

However, during her employment tenure, Ms. Cables’ employer advised they were not in a position to continue employing her full time but were committed to providing her room and board and her federal contributions. In order to make up the monetary inadequacy, her employer insisted she take on additional outside employment which they arranged with their friends on her behalf. Trusting in the wisdom and validity of her employer’s advise, and desperate to earn enough income to support her family in the Philippines, Ms. Cables agreed with the arrangement.

Having fulfilled the two-year term, she applied for an open visa in April, 1998 but was denied by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship on the basis that she violated the contract by working for more than one employer. Having been aware of the one-employer rule, Ms. Cables claimed her employer insisted she seek additional employment and said it was okay to work for others. She was officially notified on November 17, 1998 that an extension of her employment was denied, and therefore, she would have to return to the Philippines.

Distraught by this decision, Ms. Cables’ employer agreed to hire a lawyer to represent her during the immigration inquiry to seek an appeal and re-apply for permanent residency. Rather, than representing Ms. Cables wishes, her lawyer advised the Immigration Board that she had agreed to leave Canada and wanted to return to the Philippines. She was ordered to leave Canada by July 17, 1999 but has since sought refuge in a Catholic Church in Edmonton.

The Federation came to the support of Ms. Cables on the basis that she was not properly represented at the immigration hearing and had the right to a second trial. We called on her MP, David Kilgour, asking that he intervene on the deportation order so that Ms. Cables have the opportunity to a fair trial, and re-apply for permanent resident status. We will continue to stand behind Ms. Cables for that just trial, and are anxiously awaiting the decision by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.