Nanny Trafficking: A Filipina Woman Fights Back

Nannies around the world get treated pretty badly.

But a Filipino woman recently used the Canadian courts to get justice. 

Marivec Perlas Rivera was lured from a good job in Hong Kong to Canada by an agency that charged her to arrange a job and immigration papers. Yet when Rivera arrived in Toronto, the job that had been cleared after months of paperwork had suddenly disappeared. 

Not only was she out $2,800, Rivera could not work legally until she applied for a permit for a another job offer, which would take months.  Instead of working under the table and going underground, Rivera went to Small Claims Court.

Unlike many European countries and the US where most nannies work illegally, Canada has a Live-in caregiver program that grants residency after two years.  But Rivera’s sad case revealed how much the program needs reform.

Longtime agency owner, Marna Martin, of The Canadian Coalition for In-Home Care assisted Ms. Rivera in her battle and talks about the nanny vagaries.

What are the problems in the nanny business?

It’s appalling how so many people treat prospective nannies:  agencies charge $4,500 from Hong Kong or up to $10,000 from China.  How can you justify charging people that much money?

It is trafficking:  many agencies get a family to sponsor a nanny from abroad, but then the family hires someone else while the girl overseas is being processed. Some  agencies even pay fake employers to sponsor nannies. It takes a few months, the women come here, they have no money and then they owe the agency so they work illegally. It’s means of making a lot of money.

The girls have borrowed money so they are in big debt: they’re paying interest at high rates; they’re supposed to be sending money home to their families; they’re at the mercy of families who take them on a trial basis.

All this started after 2001, when the regulations changed; before that the employers paid the agency fees.

What made Rivera go to Court?

I give Marivec a lot of credit because she was the first one to do this. I was very proud of her.  I’ve never had a Filipina come into my office, so irate and beside herself.  She needed money, her family needed money, and her husband had a car accident.  I don’t know whether her anger made her so strong.

She didn’t have work and had been here for months.  She was living in with her sister-in-law in a crowded apartment; they just wanted to know how to get their $2800  from the agency.   I told her she could go to small claims court.

It’s only place nannies can go.  I said I’d help with the papers. Marivec represented herself in court; she had to give testimony and I went as a witness.

We asked for damages and  thought she’d get a couple of thousand dollars, but the judge, found for $16,000 or $17,000 even though the court’s maximum is only $10,000.

How will this case change things?

These women are usually too afraid to speak up. I’m not sure everyone else will. Most of the agencies that bring women over with a false or expired job offer, then place the women in an illegal position (getting them to work without a new work permit), so the women don’t want to jeopardize their immigration status, and get into trouble.

They didn’t have the trouble until 2001, until then we charged the employers not the nannies and everyone was able to make a living. 

What’s being done?

The Government is now keeping records and more information is required of employers. jobs will have to be posted and families will have to get an employer number

People will now be held more accountable.  Immigration can now charge families hiring an illegal nanny $50,000.

What will happen now?

It takes two years to process someone from the Philippines, so this problem won’t stop immediately.

The number of fake employers will definitely decrease.  We’re already seeing a number of agencies closing down, a lot of them know they’re doing something wrong and they’re worrying about getting sued.  Plus the new legislation is going to prohibit them charging any fee to nannies

Having this story in the news has brought more problems to light, and it will hopefully make nannies more confident to act.

A lot of employers threaten and intimidate. I think caregivers are becoming more aware of their rights, knowing that they can call Immigration  Still a lot of caregivers are terrified to complain, because they’ve been working illegally. That causes problems.  In the US, 90% of domestics are illegal, and anyone working illegally has potential of abuse, because they have no rights. 

Marivec is employed now with a good family, and she’s hoping it’s going to last for at least 2 years --so she can get her immigration papers.

interview condensed by Amy-Willard Cross