Filipino workers in Canada: road to permanent residency via provincial nominee program

Canada has opened its doors to Filipino migrant workers. In Alberta for example, you will notice that there are a lot of Filipinos working in fast food chains as service crews. Their contract usually runs for a year. If they're lucky enough, they could get an extension.

Prior to deployment, the workers were all ecstatic that this opportunity to work in Canada would be their ticket to a good life, to escape poverty, to start anew.

The position of service crew requires that the applicant has considerable experience in food services. A high school diploma will do. Not surprisingly, most of the applicants hold a bachelor's degree. Most of them even hold supervisory and/or managerial position in their previous jobs. Still, they apply. For the management people, accepting the service crew position would be a self-effacing experience. When I say management, by the way, I don't mean that these are highly-paid executives, rather they consist of retail store managers in fast food joints and other similar business operations.

Let's talk about money. How much is the offer? What are the benefits?

In Calgary, for example, Filipino service crews are paid around C$9/hour. The batch of service crews I know are paid that much. Rate, however, varies. It varies per batch. Batch would mean the workers deployed to Alberta at a certain period. The workers came to know of their hourly rate prior to signing the employment contract. What puzzles me is that some batches are paid a much higher rate. The batch after the C$9/hour rate are paid much more even though deployment would be in Calgary as well. Moreso, the workers deployed to Vancouver receive a higher rate i.e. more than C$10++/hour. I reckon that this is due to the higher cost of living in Vancouver.

Now, let's do the math. Service crews work 40 hours a week at C$9/hour. That would sum up to less than C$1500 a month. Out of that C$1500, they have to pay the rent and spend money on food, of course, and transportation expenses. They are entitled to overtime pay, home leaves and plane ticket back home is on the employer. That said, the monthly take home pay is too low. Worse, their occupation, food services, would fall on the low-skilled class and therefore, not eligible for application to be permanent resident. I am not sure if these facts were explained to them before they were deployed to Canada. Because the way I see it (based from their stories), they were not well-informed. The agency, I suppose, focused much on the "beauty" of working in Canada.

Upon learning that their contract is non-renewable and their chances of being a permanent resident is bleak, the Filipino workers started looking for other jobs. They look for jobs for different reasons: 1. higher wage and 2. a different occupation that is eligible for the provincial nominee program leading to a permanent resident visa.

The employer doesn't mind if the Filipino workers look for another job. In fact, if they've become successful in getting another job, the employer only request them to render a two-week grace period before they leave the company. The "mortal sin", on the one hand, is moonlighting. Once you're caught, you'll be sent home. There were a couple who were already sent home because of the "sidelines".

The remaining months are spent in looking for another job. A job that will possibly extend their stay in Canada and a job that will lead them to permanent residency.

And for those who paid a substantial placement fee, they couldn't go home just yet. Not until they paid their creditors with whom they borrowed the money to pay the agency's placement fee.