The horrors of working in Canada: How immigrants are cheated and what to do?
Girls from Ukraine got a job in Canada, but faced a violation of their rights by their employer. They agreed to tell how they got out of this situation.
To get a job in Canada, sometimes you have to go a long and hard way. And the worst thing is to find an unscrupulous employer. Lyusya and Alya, girls from Ukraine, who went to work on a farm in the province of Ontario, encountered such a situation. They had dreamt of Canada for a long time, but upon arrival they received accommodation in poor condition, humiliation from managers, threats of dismissal and constant overtime.
Immigrant women's history
Both Lucy and Ali have experience of living in different European countries and working in the agri-food industry.
"Free country, good pay, security," was how the girls imagined Canada.
They chose this country, among other things, because it was much easier to obtain permanent residency there than in other countries. The girls had originally planned to apply through the Express Entry system, but decided to follow a friend who had a work contract with one of the pepper farms.
Employment and conditions
Lyusya and Alya got a job through a recruiting agency in their home country, Ukraine. For farm workers, they offer a schedule of 45 hours a week with minimum hourly wage in the province where the job is open. The girls are employed in Ontario, where the minimum wage is $14.35 CAD per hour. Agency's services together with the work visa cost about $3000-4000 USD.
No language tests were required for the job, you only had to write about yourself and attach a 3x4 cm photo. It took about a month and a half to process all the documents.
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