The Nanny Business documentary on Global TV’s ‘Currents’ July 7
-
July 2, 2010
PLIGHT OF CANADA’S IMPORTED CAREGIVERS
JOELINA MALUTO in documentary
An estimated 5000 women arrive in Canada every to serve as caregivers. These women, mostly escaping poverty in the Philippines, need to support the families they left behind and dream of a starting a new life in Canada. For many that becomes a reality, but others become victims of fraud, exploitation and abuse. THE NANNY BUSINESS, a documentary by Emmy Award winning filmmaker Shelley Saywell, profiles a few of the nannies and the ordeals they endured after arriving. It will be broadcast on Global Television’s summer documentary series ‘Currents’ on Wednesday, July 7 at 10 pm.
The nannies arrive in Canada under the government’s Live- In Caregiver Program that gives them temporary visas but stipulates that they must spend a minimum of two years working and living in the homes of Canadian families before they can qualify for residency status. For many of these women that two year period can be a nightmare locking them into households where intolerable work demands are made, including inhumanly long work days for below minimum wage, and subjected to verbal and even physical abuse.
THE NANNY BUSINESS traces the story of Edelyn Pineda who left her three children behind and paid thousands of dollars to a recruitment agency in Canada to make the arrangements and book her with a family. She arrived to discover that the agent had taken her fee but the “employer” who signed her contract was not interested in her services. “I can’t believe this has happened to me,” Edelyn told the filmmakers the day after she arrived, with no money and no place to stay. “I will never get over this.”
Joelina Maluto came to Canada after working in Hong Kong and the Middle East because “I heard Canada was a good country, and after two years I could bring my children here.” Instead, she arrived to find she had no job and was forced to live in her agent’s basement with 16 other nannies for the next 2 and a half months. When the agent finally got her a job, the employer forced her to work 18 hour days.
Edelyn and Joelina were among several nannies brave enough to go public about their experiences in the hope of forcing change. Their stories are put into wider context by journalist Susan McClelland, whose own search for a nanny led her to this story, and who’s subsequent article “Nanny Abuse” for Walrus Magazine won an Amnesty Award.
Susan hopes that increasing publicity about the plight of nannies under this program will bring change. “I’ve written about sex trafficking, but caregiver trafficking is something we are now finding out about too,” she says. “These women are put in very vulnerable situations and we need to protect them from exploitation and cruelty—-they need to have the same rights that every employee in this country enjoys.”
THE NANNY BUSINESS is a Bishari Films production commissioned by Global Television. It was written and directed by Shelley Saywell and produced by Deborah Parks.
PRESS RELEASE
———————-
Nanny Business author speaks
TORONTO – Shelley Saywell, producer-director of the film, “The Nanny Business,” which will be aired on Gobal Television July 7 at 10 p.m., reveals why she did the documentary and what she hopes to achieve with it.
In a brief two-question interview e-mailed by the Philippine Reporter, Saywell responded as follows:
REPORTER: Please give us a little bit of your background, and how did you take interest in doing a film about the nannies?
SAYWELL: My sister was living in Asia and wrote about the abuse of Filipina caregivers in Hong Kong and Singapore. It was very difficult to read about the abuse and then my friend Susan McLelland wrote a piece in Walrus on the situation in Canada. I was very moved and angered to read about the plight of these women in our country. My films have always been about human rights and so I decided I wanted to tell this story. Even though Canada offers the lure of citizenship, the conditions set out by the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) allows systematic abuse by recruiters, travel agents and employers. The fact that we have no national daycare program meant Canada was in some ways exploiting others to fill that gap.
REPORTER: What do you intend to achieve in producing a film that focuses on the current plight of the Filipino nannies?
SAYWELL: I hope this documentary makes Canadians more aware. This isn’t just about bad agencies; it is also about our attitude towards those who deserve our respect and protection – the ones we entrust our children to. I hope the LCP is completely overhauled or replaced -the amendments don’t come near solving the main problems.
Comments
16 Responses to “The Nanny Business documentary on Global TV’s ‘Currents’ July 7”
Got something to say?
Featured Videos
• Cause-Oriented Politics – Hon. Flor Marcelino, Manitoba Minister of Culture, heritage, Tourism and Sports and Minister of Multiculturalism Pt.1
• Cause-Oriented Politics – Hon. Flor Marcelino, Manitoba Minister of Culture, heritage, Tourism and Sports and Minister of Multiculturalism Pt.2
• Florfina Marcelino – A
• Florfina Marcelino – B
• Caregivers Rally A
See more videos...
Advertisements
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you think that only the nannies are vulnerable , You are wrong? Lots of employers and children are vulnerable of abuse too to bad nannies but you iknow what? canadian families are just keeping their mouth shut. Good agencies who help them to come here are just keeping their mouth shut. And not only agencies are the re ccruiters even their own family too . They are sponsored to come here biut not really have a real employers and I can say 70% is arranged by families. You know what they worked with their relatives coming without pay for 24 months some just one year sone just months because they ran away with the relative who sponsor. It’s better paying a reputable agency than paying the gratefullness towards the relatives. It is forever despite they already serve the relatives or sister still not enough. They paid it forever. As if the relatives owe their life forever. If they pay the agency for about $3,000.00 that is nothing than paying their relative for a year or two . How much money they lose for a year is $16,000.00 of thei gross salary. You better did deeper the life of the LICP. Do not just concentrate of the abuse done by bad agencies and employers. Dig the other side of the story so you can balance. You become one sided and you put Canadians to shame. You are Canadians too.You see most of this applicants are begging relatives and agencies in order to come here but when they arrive here they are kicking the ass of the relatives,agencies and employers.
It is extremely unfortunate that Shelley Saywell only chooses to look at one side.
There are just as many unscrupulous caregivesr who use employer, steal from them etc. as there are unscrupulous employers. The difference is that employers stay quiet because their are embarrassed.
If life is so terrible in Canada, I guess they better stay in Hong Kong , Saudi Arabia etc.
Nobody holds a gun to their head that they have to work in Canada.
There is no doubt bad employers out here but not nearly as bad as the caregiver groups led everybody to believe.
But perhaps the problem is solved.
The LCP is quickly declining.
The Government seems to be sick and tired of listening to the constant complaints from caregivers.
The LCP is the easiest way to obtain permanent residence but one seems to hear nothing but complaints.
I would like more info.on caregivers already in Canada.I have tried to hire a livein caregiver for my disabled daughter through a reputable agency in Toronto without success.If there are caregivers here looking for work I would like to find out how to contact them and offer employment to a qualified worker.Thank you Gail Bergeron@ above email address.
i am very thankful yet very sad of what had my mom suffered.thankful because God had never leave my mom in vain.the courage that my mom had shown was amazing and speaks for her right.For evrybody’s knowledge,cant count the things that my mom have sacrificed just to arrive and work in canada.im so proud of her and the courage she had made it.God bless to every one who had helped my mother..
Hi!
I am a Filioino Live In caregiver and had an accident in my employer’s house while on duty last Feb 8, 2010. I had a spinal cord injury and surgery. I am now a Quadriplegic. I need help and I want to share my story.
Hi,
I am a filipina Canadian. I was born in Canada, and came across watching The Nanny Business. I think this is outrageous that the government is not helping out people who come to Canada under the LCP!
I want to know what I can do to help and where. I live in Toronto and will help wherever needed. We need to speak up for those who have no voice. And by calling myself a Canadian should not make me feel embarassed.
This is one of the most appalling things that I’ve ever seen. That said, I’m not at all surprised. This is a perfect example of why governmnet at all levels need to be severely reigned in. I’m sure that this corruption is one of a countless number of such things and they all need to be exposed and stopped.
I am Shocked to find out that its an issue which i wasn’t aware of… I reside in Calgary and something must be done… i would like to help and assist and play an active role to make sure this will STOP.
Please advise me what if anything i can do and where i can begin in trying to make the difference… because i am amazed at the righteousness the MPP ( didnt catch his name) exhibited when discussing the issue with the workers, he truly made me feel ashamed to call my self a Canadian.
I would like to help where do i sign up?
Are you kidding?These women are in a recession along with the rest of the world.Nannies everywhere are taking babysitting jobs for less than 40 hrs a week because the boom money is gone and middle class families are losing income so cut backs are happening.If the women that are being cheated are willing to pay rent and al,l their own living expenses and work then give them overtime and what they demand but as long as someone is paying their living expenses so they have 1000 dollars to themselves at the end of each month and they complain please sen d them home and some other piuoneers can come to Canada.
I have just watched this show, and I have to say I am very dissappointed in the Canadian government. I am a first generation filipina and it disgustes me how this can happen. What makes me even more angrier is that Filipinos are doing this to each other! How can they take other peoples money and turn around and sue them? For work they havent done yet!
On a lighter note, I am glad that Evelyn has found a good employer. My heart goes out to you and your family. I hope you can see them soon!
Jolena, your courage and perserverance gives a voice to those who cannot. Your daughters are beautiful, I wish nothing but the best to you.
And Shelley Saywell : Thank you for opening my eyes.
I work under the LCP program and I always advise people interested on it to not use agency services! I’m from Brazil and I did all the process by myself, from finding an employer in free websites (and checking their references with past nannies) to visa process. I’m glad to say that I’m part of the succesfull stories and I work for a very good family, aware of the program rules and very fair.
I loved the new government rule for the program, btw, saying that employers need to pay ALL recruitment fees when agencies are involved. Hope this helps a little bit to break this “nanny business”
I was just wondering if there is contact information available to offer assistance to these women who have been misled and left stranded.
I came to Canada in 1990 under the LCP and was very fortunate to have been sponsored by a very good employer.I was sponsored to be an elderly companion for my employer’s 92 yr old mother. They treated me like a member of the family. They made sure I learned to drive right away and they even paid for all the fees including the private lesson fees. They made sure I enrolled at the local college and took courses at night(they paid tuition fees and textbooks as well. These were just a couple of examples on how good they were to me.
The sad part of my story was when this employer had to let me go because they didn’t need me anymore.
It didn’t take me very long to find an employer but I was nervous because I didn’t really have experience being a nanny and the employer I found had 3 children, 3wk old boy, and 2 girls 4 qnd 7.Similar to the story on the documentary , I worked long hours, 7 to until the baby went to bed(I put the baby to bed myself) and dishes done. They paid me $750/month then. I figured it out that if they paid me minimum wage, I could could have earned at least $300/wk. I was with them for a couple of weeks, when surprisingly they went ahead with their planned cruise leaving their children with a complete stranger.Thinking about it now and thinking as a mother, there’s no way I would do what they did. They didn’t know me from a whole on the ground(as the saying goes)Oh yea, they gave me extra$100.00 when they came back.(Gosh I was so stupid back then!)
I wasn’t much of an arguer at that time because like most of the victims, I needed the job so I had to shut up OR live on the street. Having had the chance to experience having very good employer, I knew that I had a rotten deal accepting that job. Lo and behold, after probably 5 months, I talked to them asking for a raise. They said we’ll think about it but when she handed me the pay that month without a raise I gladly informed her I was leaving. She talked me into staying until she found my replacement(another stupidity on my part!)
I then moved to Ottawa and found another employer who was and still very good to me.Both of my good employers treated and paid me according to what the contract said.
Now that I have my own home and family, I still keep in touch with both my 2 good employers.
My mother and I saw the Nanny Business documentary and it angered us both very much to see these Filipina women being treated so poorly, especially in a country like Canada. We are very upset and need to know who we can contact so that we may help advocate for these women and offer help in some sort of way. Is there someone we can contact?
I am a chinese national who paid 90,000 rmb for a course of instruction; english language learning and interview arranged at the Canadian Embassy, Beijing. (April2010) This was all signed in a contract between myself and the owner of the Anka School in Beijing and Guangzhou…a Mr Li who is chinese but now a Canadian citizen…apparently. Website:- Anka school or Nanny one placement school and Li:- email :- leegercanada@yahoo.com The contract stated that should I fail at the interview, then the 50,000 rmb already given would be refunded. Owing to the poor english teaching, I failed the interview and asked for the return of my money. He refused to return funds and would only return 20,000 rmb if I accepted it as end of matter, and not to persist for the remainder. I checked with the Chinese courts and contract lawyers but was told that the contract I signed was unenforcible as Li is a Canandian citizen. He is also a lawyer and obviously knew the contract was unenforcible at the outset. He has failed another girl to my knowledge…and probably many others unknown to me. He writes on his web site, giving himself status, by saying that he is in consultation with Canadian employment agencies and, of course, the Canadian Embassy in China. I therefore wrote to the embassy about this matter..in May this year..and have yet to receive even an acknowledgement that I have written. Maybe an investigation would be of value in China also. I have come to the conclusion that this business is fraught with danger and many young..and many pretty poor, chinese girls are borrowing money to pay these high fees, only to be, perhaps, cheated or defrauded of their entitlements…and Li and the Anka school should be given wide berth, in my opinion. Thank you for reading this. YingHua
I am Mary Lee,a worker with inwent intl company for Fifteen years.Just relocated to London,Uk some days ago.I have Three kids and am seeking for the services of a Special Nanny/housekeeper/ outside the United Kingdom to come and work for me in the U.K.I am willing to offer Eight Hundred and fifty pounds sterling per week (850 pounds) provide monthly shopping allowances as well as accommodation as a live-in AS Nanny/housekeeper/. No Qualifications inclusive but must be able to speak ENGLISH little and witting Minimum But must be current with foreign affairs especially the Asia world.. email me at mary.lee9232@yahoo.com
Thank you.
Hope to hear back from you
Mrs Mary