Ontario's 'Nanny Hotline' goes live
April 27, 2009
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Dale Brazao
STAFF REPORTER
Foreign caregivers working in Ontario who believe they've been abused by labour recruiters or employers now have a direct line to the provincial government.
A special "Nanny Hotline" has been set up by Ontario's Ministry of Labour to inform caregivers of their rights under provincial labour laws, and document alleged cases of abuse. Any report of abuse will be forwarded to "a specially trained team" for follow-up and investigation, a source told the Star.
The hotline, 1-866-372-3247, will start taking calls as of 8:30 a.m. today. This is a dedicated line for nannies. There are about 18,000 nannies working in Ontario, most employed in the GTA.
The ministry already has a "snitch line" for other labour issues.
Labour Minister Peter Fonseca had promised a hotline would be part of tough new legislation he will introduce later this year to protect vulnerable foreign caregivers from exploitation. He moved up the timeline for the hotline after meeting with members of Caregivers Support Services who implored him to take immediate action to stem what they say is widespread abuse.
"We are taking action to help protect vulnerable employees who are in Ontario under the federal Live-In Caregiver Program," he said.
The proposed legislation comes in the wake of a Star investigation that showed labour recruiters were charging nannies as much as $10,000 for jobs that did not exist.
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Toronto Star