Just want to share this article i read..
Due to the intensifying demands of the neoliberal agenda of globalization, workers coming to Canada through the Live-In Caregiver Program (LCP) are mostly Filipino women (at 97%) and are continuingly being used as a source of cheap labour relagated to domestic capacities. The documentary presented, titled ‘The Nanny Business’ by Emmy award winner Shelley Saywell, featured the narratives Filipino women, under the LCP, in the hopes of finding stable employment as domestic workers. Their stories highlighted the physical and emotional turmoil that domestic workers encounter as they deal with abusive working conditions, economic instability, family separation and lack of workers compensation or rights, proving once again, that the LCP perpetuates modern-day slavery.
Filipino women, and women of colour in general, are huge contributors to Canada’s economy yet we remain invisible. The re-feudalization and exploitation of our women must end, and this is why the scrapping of the LCP is non-negotiable. It is important for Filipinas to be proud and contribute to the women’s movement in Canada. We need to be sharp in bringing out the undeniable issue of class exploitation and the particular experiences of gender oppression and racialization. The women’s struggle is essential to the overall struggle for our genuine settlement and integration, and equality in Canadian society. Moreover, as Filipinas comprise a majority of the Filipino-Canadian population, we must assert that our voices be heard.
Discussing the lives of Filipino Canadian women, it was evident that their experience touched the hearts of many in the audience, from youth to mothers alike. Jane shared her personal experiences as a daughter of an LCP worker, and discussed the difficult process of separation and reconciliation with her mother after eight years living apart. Like many children from LCP families, Jane recognized the sacrifices that her mother has made and continues to make as a domestic worker.
How the LCP is not a uni-dimensional program impacting the lives of domestic workers. Rather, it is a labor and economic program of Canada that implicates and structures relationships within the Filipino-Canadian community. "I was so moved just listening to Jane’s story, but I’ve been hearing similar stories for the past 10 years we’ve been organizing Filipino youth in Canada. We, as a community, should really take a step back and see this issue as a whole, not just affecting a few individuals, but our entire community all over Canada. This is why it is still so important for us to continue to organize, learn more about our community and the LCP. Then we will realize that the call to scrap the LCP is a correct one if we have the the future of our community in mind."
The evening concluded declaring the need to make change; specifically through genuine women’s liberation. Such steps can be made through scrapping the LCP, and ending the program’s abusive consequences. How Filipino-Canadians must take on larger roles in engaging and discussing issues affecting the community. “These are stories and experiences of economic marginalization, systemic racism, women’s struggle for equality, human rights and development and the young people’s struggle for a better future.”
In addition to being educational and inspirational, the event marked PWC-Q’s contribution to the ongoing struggle for genuine women’s liberation and change within Canadian society.
PWCQ