2011-10-10
Philippine Women Centre - BC
To speak out against domestic slavery in Canada, the newly elected board of the Philippine Women Centre of BC will appear on CBC Vancouver news at 6 pm tomorrow, Oct. 11.
Philippino Women Centre
To speak out against domestic slavery in Canada, the newly elected board of the Philippine Women Centre of BC will appear on CBC Vancouver news at 6 pm tomorrow, Oct. 11.
“Unpaid overtime, the bind to one employer, being at their beck and call 24 hours per day and the difficulty of applying labour standards in private households are all too common for Filipino Canadian live-in caregivers,” said Ayex Bathan, PWC-BC’s new vice-chairperson.
To put a human face to modern day slavery in Canada, two nannies will share their stories of physical and psychological abuse under the LCP. They are also members of SIKLAB, a sister organization of PWC composed of migrant workers.
Appearing on CBC is one of the first achievements of the new board, who have been elected on Sept.18 on the Annual General Meeting. They will run a tight ship this year, as most of them are young Filipino Canadian feminists or former or current LCP domestic workers.
Having gone through Canada’s racist and anti-woman Live-in Caregiver Program, they have truly empowered themselves through the PWC-BC. As they are all working class women, a unity with other transnational women and workers will be forged and the movement to scrap the LCP will be ever so ignited.
“I’ve been with the PWC since 1995. So I carry the history with me and taking on a board position is a natural next step,” said Cora Negbenebor, a former live-in caregiver and the new chairperson of PWC-BC. Like Cora, the other new PWC board members have outreached and done a lot of the ground work for PWC.
One major achievement last year of PWC-BC was a theatrical musical in May sponsored by a Violence Against Women grant that focused on the economic violence Filipino nannies go through in Canada, which was a joint effort with SIKLAB. Workshops about workers’ rights, Philippine history and young women’s issues were ongoing throughout the year. The Counterspin 2 Conference in June conducted mass education about Filipino Canadians’ right to settle and integrate in society.
Many thanks goes to outgoing board members: chairperson Christina Panis, vice-chair Laarni de los Reyes, secretary-general Denise Valdecantos, treasurer Marilou Carillo and members at large Niki Silva and Jill Laxamana. The new board of PWC is filled with familiar faces and fresh ideas, such as chairperson Cora Negbenebor, vice-chairperson Ayex Bathan, secretary Hanane Benzidane, treasurer Krystle Alarcon and members at large Gloria Remirata, Zenaida Cordero, Oliva Ariola and Judith Legarda.
The will of PWC is ever stronger, politics sharper and actions empowering. We will continue to struggle for a just and genuine settlement and integration, defined by the Filipino Canadian community, not by the state. Together, we aim to liberate Canada’s transnational working class community from exploitation.
To watch the PWC interview online on Tuesday Oct. 11 on CBC (archived episode for a limited time): http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/Local_News/BC
END THE EXPLOITATION, MARCH FOR LIBERATION, SCRAP THE LCP!
TRANSNATIONAL WOMEN UNITE!
Occupations in services - Domestic work
Suporta ng mga hakbangin
Manggagawa (im) migrante, Pampublikong Kamalayan, and Mga unyon
Canada, Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec, British Columbia, Iba pang mga Lalawigan, Pederal, Pilipinas, Nova Scotia, and National relevance
Ingles