The Toronto Star published a front page article on March 14,2009 entitled “Nannies trapped in Bogus Jobs”
Here is a link to some startling facts about the situation some foreign nannies face after coming to Canada
http://www.thestar.com/printArticle/603434
Some quotes from the article:
"Lured by the promise of a better life, hundreds of foreign-trained nannies have found themselves working illegally in menial jobs, without their passports and owing thousands to job agencies"
“The Star has interviewed two-dozen caregivers who came to Canada over the past five years. Almost all arrived to find their employers did not exist or had hired someone else.”
The article focuses on one agent in particular. Her name is Rakela Spivak who is based in Toronto. Here is what the reporters said they discovered from some of the nannies she recruited.
“Spivak promised them jobs for fees ranging between $2,500 and $3,500, which ballooned to $5,000 when they arrived in Toronto. All but one arrived to learn their jobs didn't exist. None had ever even spoken to employers who supposedly filled out the federal paperwork to sponsor them.
Spivak demanded the nannies sign contracts that required turning over their passports and social insurance cards.
Most were housed in Spivak's basement for as many as two weeks with as many as a dozen other women. The nannies say they slept on mattresses on the floor and spent their days cleaning the house and cooking for Spivak's family.”
“The Star found some agencies compel nannies to open accounts into which all their pay is deposited until placement fees are repaid. Diamond Personnel owner Audrey Guth has an "affiliate" financial arm that finances the debt of nannies who can't afford her firm's fees. A promissory note nannies sign with Somerset Financial (which Guth acknowledged is owned by her husband) requires nannies to open a bank account and "deposit all paycheques (there) until ... the loan is fully repaid."
Somerset Financial charges 18 per cent interest, a figure that is "high," Guth agreed. "I'm not a social service. I'm here to make money. ... It's a 100 per cent risk for me and there are girls that walk. There's nothing illegal about it."
If you are planning to come to Canada to work as a nanny through one of these agencies...be very careful!
Home