manila, philippines - a group of filipino nurses has asked canada to scrap its live-in caregiver program (lcp), saying it is exploitative and oppressive.
the filipino nurses support group (fnsg), an organization of over 800 nurses in canada's provinces of british columbia and quebec, said the program has resulted in filipino nurses being made to work as domestic workers and 24-hour home support workers.
"the lcp imports filipino nurses into a program of modern-day slavery, economic marginalization, de-skilling, and stalled development," it said in a statement on monday.
since the 1990s, filipino nurses have come to canada not to work as registered nurses but as caregivers.
Isn't it time to re-evaluate the desire to undertake a nurses education in the Phillipines?
Having a nurses education is no longer a guarantee of well paying jobs. In certain areas of Canada, it can be difficult for Canadian educated nurses to find work (despite having years of experience). The 1990s were a terrible time for nurses here due to government financial cutbacks. The clocks could very well swing that way again. The US is suffering economically and lay offs are happening on a regular basis if you read the other forums here.
The Phillipines produces way more nurses than they can ever employ. The education and skills level of nurses from the Phillipines is no longer as highly regarded as it was 20 years ago. I know that my health region is reconsidering it's position on bringing nurses to work here.
Perhaps, it is time for your families and government to stop visualizing a nurses education as a ticket to prosperity and as a revenue source to the national economy.
Fiona, if Canadian nurses are having a hard time getting a position, why are nurses being imported in?
I agree with you, one should become a nurse because they want to care for the sick, not a ticket or a dream. As I have mentioned before nurses who enter nursing for economic reasons are not happy nursing.
I also feel if you immigrate to a country you should adopt the new country as your own. One of my co-workers is a recent American citizen, she is so happy and proud she is voting tomorrow.
It can be a very regional thing. There are small pockets of the country where it is more desirable to live than others. I know a nurse who migrated from the UK to Vancouver Island. It took ages for her to find a position in the area she lives in. The Island has jobs in specialty areas but it also has a lot of nurses in their late 40s and 50s who move there due to the better climate. Their husbands may have retired and they want to keep busy. Some small rural hospitals in good climates also have the same "blip" more people willing to work than actual positions.
The importing is being done in the urban centres and the less desirable areas (weather wise). I remember a nurse from Texas who got really flustered when he saw his first snow flurry and was wondering if his truck would be OK without snowtyres. The snow never landed.
Nurses trained here are also getting fed up of the working conditions and management attitudes in the hospitals. In my province there is an ad running asking "RNs, LPNs, and RPNs who have left the profession within the last five years" to please return. As a good friend who left said WHY?, same crap every day and no amount of money is worth it.
We have nurses who came from the Phillipines this spring looking exhausted and some are trying to get into the States and are applying to hospitals there. I guess they didn't read their contracts. Their work visa is for our employer only and at the end of the contract they return home.
hi, im one those rns who is currently being offered a work as a caregiver in calgary and i was referred to this thread my suzanne4.
is experience as a registered nurse here in the philippines a requirement before taking the crne even if i already have a working visa? what else do i need to know before applying for crne?
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you do not need to take work as live in caregiver in order to come to canada. there are lots of nursing jobs available.
if you apply to college of alberta registered nurses association carna the requirements should be clearly listed.
usually these requirements are:
-graduation from an approved school of nursing
-clear criminal records check
-english language competency
the college reviews your application and decides if you are eligible to write the crne.
the crne is only offered every four months and you have to be in canada to take it. it is not offerred in any venue outside of canada.
the good news is you can become a nurse in canada without going through the live-in caregiver program. the bad news is it can take a while to process your application and complete the crne and you will not be allowed to work as a nurse if you are not licensed.
Specializes in Hemodialysis, Operating Room Nurse, PACU.
the bottom line here... (especially for my pinoy comrades)
1. expect a licensure program from the country you're applying at. most reciprocities work only within a certain country. i'd doubt if canada would accept a reciprocity program from the philippines.. canadian and philippine nursing are very much different from each other. personally, be happy that they're giving you the chance to take the crne. surely filipinos can pass any *******' exam presented to them! this was in is never a problem...
2. know what you're getting yourself into. carefully read the contract you're signing. bring somebody knowledgable about this things if you have to. prevention is always better that treatment, right?
manila, philippines - a group of filipino nurses has asked canada to scrap its live-in caregiver program (lcp), saying it is exploitative and oppressive.
why don't these same group of filipino nurses ask the philippines to scrap it's volunteer training program where people have to pay hospitals to volunteer. it's definately oppressive and definately exploitation is involved.
the filipino nurses support group (fnsg), an organization of over 800 nurses in canada's provinces of british columbia and quebec, said the program has resulted in filipino nurses being made to work as domestic workers and 24-hour home support workers.
nobody is making them work as domestic workers. they chose to work as domestic workers.
"the lcp imports filipino nurses into a program of modern-day slavery, economic marginalization, de-skilling, and stalled development," it said in a statement on monday.
again, they knew what they were getting into when they took on the job as caregiver and nobody forced them. it's their choice.
since the 1990s, filipino nurses have come to canada not to work as registered nurses but as caregivers.
what are they expecting? they knew that they'd be working as caregivers.
it was in 1992 that canada changed its foreign domestic movement (fdm), a childcare or nanny program, into the lcp that includes care for elderly and disabled canadians.
this is something interesting. i'm wondering how canada makes it work and how's it run.
during the same time, canada's immigration department made it impossible for nurses to immigrate into the said country as permanent residents, leaving the nurses no choice but to come under the caregiver program.
canadas immigration department doesn't owe foreigners anything. again, they do have a choice. they can either stay in their country of origin or come to canada and work as a caregiver. nobody is forcing them.
fnsg said it had documented many filipino nurses who earn as little as $1.50 or about p70 per hour under the lcp, which differs quite largely from british columbia's $8 or almost p390 per hour minimum wage and the registered nurses' starting wage of $28 or more than p1,350 per hour.
i don't agree with slave labor. they should be paid at least what minimum wage is. again, these nurses from the philippines knew what they were doing when they signed these contracts. that's why you sign them after you've read them.
"filipino nurses under the lcp are stripped of their professional skills, education, and dignity as they cook, clean, provide personal care, and give medications for families wealthy enough who can afford private live-in care," said the group.
they're stripped of nothing. they still have their education, nobody is taking that away from them. they took on this job fully knowing what they were getting into when doing so. canada doesn't have to recognize their education if they don't want to, that's why they evaluate their transcripts. it's canadas disgretion to do what they want to do, and no foreigner has the right to say otherwise.
it also said filipino nurses face discriminatory and lengthy accreditation processes that prevent them from practicing their profession as soon as possible.
again, canada doesn't owe foreigners anything. canada doesn't have to accept their education if they feel that the education is subpar. if you're educated outside the country where you're seeking employment then that country has the right to evaluate everything regarding the person and their education.
"immigration and accreditation barriers that filipino nurses face purposefully segregate them into a pool of cheap labor," the group said.
again, they weren't forced into these jobs, they chose to take them.
fnsg said it will continue to call for the scrapping of the lcp and for the canadian government to fully recognize filipino nurses through reciprocity agreements.
if i were a citizen of canada i'd be totally against reciprocity agreements. why should canada be forced to accomodate filipino nurses? it's canadas right to protect their citizens regarding health care. they shouldn't be forced to form a recripocity agreement with the philippines. evaluate their education, nursing school clinical roations, and their nursing experience in their home country to see if they're able to work as a rn.
fnsg said the canadian nurses association predicts a nursing shortage of 78,000 registered nurses by 2011 and 113,000 registered nurses by 2016. - gmanews.tv
Ok guys...This is another misconception about Canada... Be it known that a "CAREGIVER" is not the same as a REGISTERED NURSE, a caregiver is the glorified term for nanny, another term for domestic helper, and a more professional term for house help. The FNSG has been creating so much FUSS about this for so many years now. The truth is, these Filipino nurses are not exploited at all !...They signed a contract with their job description so that they can get WORKING VISA. They should know what their job will be like before leave the Philippines.
I went to CANADA under the technical professions program, instead of applying to become a nanny, the technical profession I applied for was O.R. Technician, guess what? I cannot even get a job as an orderly or a Care Aide, who wants to be one anyway...so I became a Registered Nurse. The application to qualify to take the CRNE alone is long and tedious....take the English Proficiency exams, have your credentials from the Philippines evaluated, and then the Regulatory Board of the Province where you applied will determine if you can take the exam and will impose the time limit.
The FNSG has long been calling themselves "advocate" of these Live In Caregivers, they have forgotten that Canada has their own rules and regulation and also, It is their Country. They can impose whatever they want, and we foreign trained professionals should conform to these rules and regulations. Instead, The FNSG should look into making the Long Process of getting a Canadian RN license shorter. It took me 4 months and one exam to get my license. For some, it is longer. I am now in the US and I have to go through the same process...
Recruiters and Live in Caregiver schools in the Philippines should be more upfront to their students, more honest about what these poor students should expect when they leave the Philippines to work in Canada as Caregivers. And FNSG should also stop babbling and crying "FOUL". Let's face it, the process in getting a license is also an evaluation of the competence of the foreign trained nurse in a different setting.
FNSG, gather your nurses and think of a faster way to get a License for these foreign trained ( Philippine) nurses !
This posting might already be too late, but for whatever it's worth, here's my two-cent's. Individuals who choose to take a detour to achieve their long-term plans should be prepared for the consequences of their decision. It might also be to their best interest to rid themselves of the "stepping-stone" mentality. There are few things in life that get achieved through taking short cuts and the practice of nursing in Canada is definitely not one of them. If you opt to come to Canada as a live-in caregiver, be prepared to work long hours for lousy money. Also, be mindful that your work permit as a caregiver has absolutely no bearing with your being allowed to sit for the CRNE. Clear your mind and get your facts straight, there's no such as a having no choice. Good luck. mcruz924, and be safe.
I was bothered by the title of the news story. I have signed a contract for a Canadian employer and I'm just waiting for my TWP and eligibility. I think the news was misleading. Previous posts were correct, those nurses knew they will be working their as a caregiver and not as a nurse. They must have mixed it all up. It's definitely NOT a stepping stone. a Graduate Nurse and a Lincensed Practical Nurse are considered stepping stones for some Canadian provinces. Mine is a GN.
Fiona59
8,343 Posts
Isn't it time to re-evaluate the desire to undertake a nurses education in the Phillipines?
Having a nurses education is no longer a guarantee of well paying jobs. In certain areas of Canada, it can be difficult for Canadian educated nurses to find work (despite having years of experience). The 1990s were a terrible time for nurses here due to government financial cutbacks. The clocks could very well swing that way again. The US is suffering economically and lay offs are happening on a regular basis if you read the other forums here.
The Phillipines produces way more nurses than they can ever employ. The education and skills level of nurses from the Phillipines is no longer as highly regarded as it was 20 years ago. I know that my health region is reconsidering it's position on bringing nurses to work here.
Perhaps, it is time for your families and government to stop visualizing a nurses education as a ticket to prosperity and as a revenue source to the national economy.