Seventeen Filipino mechanics from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada successfully asserted their right to job security. This was after 4Tracks Ltd arbitrarily and illegally dismissed them after only three weeks o employment. 4Tracks Ltd is a trucking company based in Manitoba. It has a long history of labor law violations.

On December 18, Migrante Manitoba held a press conference to expose the company’s abuse of Filipino workers, forcing the company to reinstate the workers.

While the case was being fought, many contributed financial aid, food, clothing, essential supplies, and temporary shelter for the workers. Many young students, workers, and community members also volunteered to campaign for the struggle of the Filipino workers in the midst of the Christmas season.

The Filipino workers were recruited in the Philippines as truck mechanics by Venture Management. But upon arriving in Canada, they were made to perform work beyond their contracts and under unsafe conditions.

This included making them work during winter without adequate protection such as jackets, boots, and gloves. They were made to use heavy equipment and welding gear without proper training or tools such as masks. The promised provisions of housing and basic needs such as beds and cooking facilities were not fulfilled. They were cramped into small rooms, while others were forced to sleep on the floor using only cardboard as bedding. They also suffered verbal abuse and intimidation to stop them from fighting back.

According to Migrante Manitoba, migrant workers under Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program commonly suffer employers’ contract violations, abuse, and intimidation. According to the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, the program was described as a “breeding ground” for modern forms of slavery.

Migrante Manitoba calls on the community to continue protecting all migrant workers who face vulnerable situations under the exploitative system that treats workers as cheap and expendable labor—in Canada through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and in the Philippines through the Labor Export Program.

The group also calls on the Philippine Consulate General Office (PCG-Toronto) and the Migrant Workers Office (MWO) in Toronto to provide immediate financial and legal assistance and aid from the AKSYON for all Filipino migrants who are victims of abuse.