Occupational Health and Safety for Migrant Domestic Workers in Canada: Dimensions of (Im)mobility
Abstract
This study examines the occupational health and safety experiences of migrant workers employed as live-in caregivers in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. We identified four categories of common occupational hazards, including fatigue, psychosocial stress, physical hazards, and exposure to harassment and abuse. These hazards are systemic and difficult to remedy because of systems and policy issues that include: debts to private recruiters, federal migration policies, precarious legal status, the volatile nature of the oil and gas economy, and the complex work conditions of working and living in their employers’ private homes. To address this issue, several changes need to be made: Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) education targeting caregivers needs to include a clear explanation of caregiver rights; employers of caregivers need to be educated about OHS; government OHS need to include information about anti-racist approaches; caregivers need to be added to the OHS Code; increased inspections of workplaces need to be performed; changes are needed to the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) at the federal level.
Notes
Location
Fort McMurray, Alberta
Key recommendations
OHS education targeting caregivers including a clear explanation of caregiver rights; Education for employers of caregivers about OHS; Training for government OHS inspectors and frontline staff re: antiracist and human rights education; Adding caregivers to the OHS Code; Eliminating the caregiver exclusions in the Employment Standards Code; Increased inspections of workplaces; Changes to the LCP at the Federal level
Key populations
Live-in caregivers
Key findings
Caregivers identify four categories of common occupational hazards including fatigue, psycho-social stress, physical hazards and exposure to harassment and abuse. These hazards are systemic and difficult to remedy because of systems and policy issues that include: debts to private recruiters, federal migration policies, precarious legal status, the volatile nature of the oil and gas economy, and the complex work conditions of working and living in their employers’ private homes
Gaps identified
OHS (Occupational Health and Safety) education does not address the situation of caregivers; Employers lack education on OHS; OHS inspectors lack cultural competency/human rights training; Caregivers are excluded from the OHS Code and the Employment Standards code; OHS remains a complaint-driven system that fails to acknowledge difficulties for worker to voice complaints
Community organizations
Fort McMurray Nanny Network
Integration timeline
At what point during the integration process the study was conducted?
Had been in Canada for periods of less than a year to more than three years
Open-access – No