Fighting for Migrant Workers and Their Rights During COVID-19
- Interview, Maria Sol
Pajadura, Chairperson, Migrante Canada -
Caregivers contingent in International Women's
Day 2020 in Toronto.
Workers' Forum is posting
below an interview with
Maria Sol Pajadura, Chairperson of Migrante Canada, a Canada-wide
defence organization for migrant workers from the Philippines and other
countries.
Workers' Forum: Migrante
Canada does a lot
of work providing practical assistance to migrant workers. Can you
speak a bit about how COVID-19 is impacting different sectors of
migrant workers, food industry, caregivers and so on and what projects
Migrante has taken up to assist these workers?
 Maria
Sol Pajadura: COVID-19
has affected migrant workers directly. For example, since the
announcement of lockdown in Ontario and other provinces, migrant
workers in the food industry, construction and other workplaces such as
cleaning services and restaurants have been laid off. Those migrant
workers without status are
even in a worse off situation because they are more vulnerable and are
not eligible for benefits of any kind. For those still working such as
in private elder care, some employees are insisting that they remain in
the house and be available 24/7 without any additional pay under threat
of losing their jobs and therefore risk becoming ineligible for
landed status.
Migrante Canada has set up Kapitbisig Laban (link
arms)
COVID, a mutual aid network in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg,
Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal to assist and support migrant workers who
have lost their jobs and help them secure food and money through
financial and in-kind donations. We also try to find jobs for these
workers, if we can. We also talk to them regularly to make sure that
they are not isolated. The isolation is hard on their mental health and
well-being, especially those with no status who are facing great
anxiety not knowing how they will support their families who are
depending on them back home.
WF: Many
migrant workers have been deemed
"essential" during the pandemic, for example agricultural workers, food
and service industry workers, yet they are denied any supports that the
federal and provincial governments have put into place. Can you speak a
bit about this situation?
MSP: If a
migrant worker has papers, they
are eligible for EI or the Canada Emergency Response Benefit. We help
those who are eligible with their applications. It is the ones who have
no status or who came to Canada and then find themselves without a job
because of unscrupulous recruiters and Canada's refusal to protect
migrant workers, who are facing the most difficulty. They find
themselves isolated and with no access to EI, health care or any other
benefits. It is the same for those with no status. They have family
back home depending on them and this not only causes mental anguish for
the worker, but the family they support face starvation and suffering
back
in the Philippines. It is inhumane.
WF: Migrante
is part of the campaign of
the Caregivers Action Centre and others calling for the federal
government to grant landed status for all migrant workers on arrival to
Canada. Can you inform our readers about that campaign?
 MSP:
Yes,
we are actually part of the Migrant Rights Network that is calling on
the federal government to act now to ensure that migrant workers,
including those without status, be given landed status and all
benefits that they deserve as workers, as human beings. We are saying
that if these workers are "essential" and
COVID-19 has clearly shown migrant workers play a critical role in the
economy and society, then their contribution must be recognized and
they should receive landed status and all benefits such as healthcare,
EI and other supports. We are also calling on the Trudeau government to
regularize the status of undocumented migrant workers so that they
can remain and continue to work openly. We state that these workers are
not criminals but are victims of a system that preys on their
vulnerability. That is our demand. It is high time Canada stopped the
exploitation and abuse of migrant workers and treated them like human
beings.
To find out more about Kapitbisig Laban COVID
visit kapitbisig.ca.
This article was published in
Number 31 - May 5, 2020
Article Link:
Fighting for Migrant Workers and Their Rights During COVID-19 - Interview, Maria Sol
Pajadura, Chairperson, Migrante Canada
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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