Caregivers file suit against recruitment agency, demand better government protection

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When Joelina Maluto and Grace Gallego came to work as live-in caregivers in Canada, they expected a better life. Instead, the two women had to deal with an agency that demanded a $5,000 recruitment fee in spite of the fact that the jobs they were promised no longer existed.

“The agency took our passports to ensure we would pay up,” said Gallego at a press conference Tuesday outside the Toronto Courthouse at 361 University Avenue. In the meantime, up to twelve caregivers, including Gallego and Maluto, lived in the agency basement. “We were made to clean Rakela’s house and sent out to do cleaning jobs. To intimidate us further, the agency sued us for payments.”

After Maluto and Gallego went public with their story in the spring, the Minister of Immigration agreed to blacklist rogue agencies. “Where is the blacklist?” asked Gallego. “We would like the Ministry of Immigration to do its job by protecting us.”

Gallego also wants fundamental changes to the LCP by eliminating the live-in requirement (24 months of required live-in work within a three-year period) of the program; providing landed status upon arrival; the right to a fair appeal process; full protection under the provincial Employment Standards Act; regulated employment agencies and employers; and the elimination of recruitment fees.

If adopted, these changes could make caregivers less vulnerable to exploitation by crooked agencies.

Maria Capulong, one of the lawyers assisting Maluto, Gallego and another caregiver who are suing Rakela Care Agency, says agencies exist to locate employers with caregiving needs and match them with workers from abroad.

“This is a valid and useful role in the process,” said Capulong. “However, foreign workers recruited by these agencies are often completely dependent on them, not only to find them an employer, but to explain the requirements of the LCP.”

Because agencies are often the only contact these workers have in Canada, caregivers are put in a vulnerable position if the agencies choose to exploit that dependence.

“This is why regulation of these agencies is so important,” she said. “Foreign workers need to be able to have confidence that Canadian agencies will provide the services they promise. But that regulation has been lacking and rogue agencies have continued to operate with impunity.”

As a result, Maluto, Gallego and another caregiver have taken it upon themselves to vindicate their rights and hold Rakela accountable for its actions through the court system. The allegations made by all three are similar. Each was recruited in Hong Kong, provided with the names and addresses of an employer and subsequently obtained work permits.

“Upon arrival in Canada, they discovered that other caregivers had been sent by Rakela to these households and that they were out of a job,” she said. “After the three managed to obtain legitimate caregiving jobs, get back their passports with the help of their Consulate, and refused to pay the $5,000 fee, the agency sued them.”

Capulong said it’s taken an incredible amount of courage for these women to stand up for their rights by seeking recourse through the courts, not only for themselves, but to seek the decision of the court concerning the legality of these practices.

Click here to listen to a one on one interview with lawyer Maria Capulong as she explains why legal proceedings were commenced against Rakela Care Agency. [3]

Click here to see more photos from the press conference. [4]

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