Foreign workers in charge of beneficiaries denounce the miserable conditions in which they have to work.
At the Villa Mon Domaine in Lévis, a residence for seniors with loss of autonomy, foreign workers worked on a voluntary basis and without a work permit. A sum of approximately $100 was given to them every two weeks.
François and some of his colleagues took the floor on Sunday to ask the government for access to an open work permit for better supervision of employees.
“We cried foul in the case of the Villa Mon Domaine, and that’s good, because indeed it was unacceptable. But if we look at things in reality, this is only one case among many others. It is the result of a system that creates the conditions for such a thing to happen,” said Raphaël Laflamme, community organizer at the CTTI, in a press release.
François says he suffered harassment, racist remarks and discrimination during his employment at Villa Mon Domaine. He lived in a bedroom the size of a wardrobe.
“There were 37 residents, only one of whom was semi-autonomous. Everything else, not only were they Alzheimer’s, but they’re not self-sufficient,” he says.
After an eleven-month wait, he finally received his work permit.