Hi There,

I am currently working on a post graduate work permit and since i graduated from a university in the GTA it is non-renewable and cannot be extended. It is valid for 12 months and i have completed 7 months so far.

Now, my working conditions are deplorable, and my employer is abusing the fact that i am on a work permit and can only work for this company. She used to make me work mor ethan 8 hours a day ( sometimes from 9am till 9pm) without OVERTIME! She humiliates me and my co worker in front of other colleagues, and it is becoming very unbearable. After working so hard for this company, i feel it is abusing my rights and even on national holidays she makes us work and says that it is mandatory but we will be paid. Regardless, it is a national holiday and we should not be made to work regardless of whether we are being paid or not. This is not a hospital or anything, it is just a marketing agency. Whats more she makes us do our normal hours of 9am to 6pm and then after 6pm expects us to do telemarketing for atlesat 3 hours with no overtime. I cannot work here any longer but i do not want to go back to my country of origin and i do not know how to get out of this mess. Originally when i signed up there was no mention of telemarketing etc but i feel she is just taking advantage of me because i am on a permit.


My question is > Can i leave and work for another company? If yes, how do i go about getting a new permit etc?

Please advice me anyone!

Thanks so much

HI,

Is there a clock and a punch card system at your work place. If not,
do you have the daily number of hours worked for the past seven months at that location. Was there somebody working with you at the same time, that you worked? Will he vouch for you. Or are you the only victim who is made to slog at your work place? Make a list and the number of hours you worked. Submit the same to your employer for the additional pay. But do keep a copy. Tell the one who worked with you about it too. Ask him to do the same.

You have nothing to loose, because you are currently at the loosing end. The only way you can take advantage of the situation is asking for compensation for the number of extra hours and days that you worked.

Here are some links that you can explore and make yourself felt at that location. If they fire you, for doing it, then use your work permit to get another employment till the Permit expires. Also report the same to the immigration authorities and ask them to provide you with an extension for another year.

http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/es/report_card/index.html

http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/es/brochures/br_rights.html

There will be others on this board who will provide you with a lot of information to tackle the current issue.
See if (your employer) they will settle this in an amicable manner. If not take it to the next level.

Good Luck.

Freddie.

Dear Freddie,

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately my boss is very manipulative and she is more than aware of the labour regulations. Right now we are scheduled to work exactly 44 hours a week from mon-fri so we are not entitled to overtime. Besides i thought the law was 8 hours in a day but then i read that it can go up to 48hrs in a week, so i mean basically it does not seem like she is doing anything illegal right? I don't know if the 48 hrs applies to a 6 day work week because we are working 44 right now in a 5 day work week.

We already asked her for compensation a while back and she said we signed away our right to it by joining a global company as we have to respect the time zones in different countries and work with them. She also claims that we signed away our overtime rights in our job contract which i have read thoroughly but do not find any reference to not getting overtime pay for more than 8 hours worked a day. She is very manipulative.

Do you know of anyone in a similar situation? My boss is a canadian desi and she passes racist comments all the time at me which really hurts me. Not to mention, once i did not agree with her and stood up to her and she called me into a one hour meeting to talk to me about anger management therapy, and honestly i am the calmest most humble person you will ever meet. I just feel manipulated and abused every day and i am unable to even sleep knowing that i face this everyday.

Do you think immigration will believe me? There is no record of hours worked because we are salaried employees. I started recording them, but she only RECENTLY scheduled us, before it was more like you either work late or i fire you, and i was afraid so i used to work late, but as my colleague is canadian he said to hell with her and he used to make me leave with him at5.30pm which made her mad and forced her to schedule us for shifts.

I AM SO LOST and SAD because of this! I am all alone here too so i am afraid to do anything because i don't know what she will do to me and i have no one to support me

Thanks for your help and any help would be great!
Michelle

Hello Dhadkan,

Got the full story. Nothing goes a long way and sympathy leads the list.

Now see if this employer will provide you with a letter stating that she will provide you with Permanent Employment. If she does, then use it to your best advantage and apply for PR based upon that letter. See if you can get more mileage at that location and from her.

You are between a Rock and a Hard place.

{{How can people live so calmly on a rumbling volcano? Passing through the Strait of Messina, brought to mind the Odyssey of Ulysses and his adventure in this tempestuous sea, with the threatening monsters Scyla and Charybdis, facing each other across this strait. But, for us, the sea was calm and the view of Calabria and Sicily marvelous. Nevertheless, with a little imagination just sailing through this historical sea is impressive. }}

Also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scylla

Good Luck.

Freddie.

Dhadkan,

You still have 5 more months till your work permit expires, find a new job. (easier said than done..... but try). Based on your new job letter, an application fee of 150$, you will have to apply for P.G work permit again at Vegerville, Alberta. It might take 3-4 weeks but they will give it to you for same date as it was supposed to expire earlier. This way atleast you can work in peace somewhere else & donot have to be upset & humiliated. I changed job 3 times while I was on PG work permit & later got a HRSDC approval frm my employer which helped me in my PR

Best of luck

Hi,

I had a similar experience! I topped my class with a GPA of 3.8 out of 4.0 and even after that I did odd jobs like car wash & worked as construction worker for four months before I got my first job. It was a nightmare. The employer knew that I needed a Post grad work permit badly to stay in canada to work. He offered me job on a condition of NOT paying me for a month, said they just wanted to test my skills...I worked for two and a half months and got paid for 1 month!
Hours were crazy....like working in a coal mine...from 10:00 am to 1:00am
NO OVER TIME! And they used to treat really bad. And imagine all this after having 7 years of experience in India and I left India at a senior post!
So this is all in the game....I know its easier said and done. Things are not fair here!
The picture we see when we leave for this "Wonderland" is way different from reality! But now that we have made a choice....lets stick to it. BE STRONG. Use this as an experience. Look for another job. I am sure its a matter of time. They say they want skilled workforce but let me tell you the truth...they want immigrants to come here with full pockets and work as construction workers, do all the laborious work, work in factories, drive cabs etc. There was an article in THE STAR mentioning that the average immigrant coming to canada is highly educated and in fact much more qualified than the locals. But the truth is that the Rules of the land are meant for the people of that land...till the time "WE" are outsiders....these things will happen...
So be strong...take it in your stride!
Best of luck. I hope you find a better job soon.

Hey Guys,

Thank you so much for your support. I did not know i could change my employer so easily and get a work permit again. BUT does this affect your PR or anything if you change employers so many times?

Well i have 5 more months to go with the wicked V as i call her and she is indian after everything! i never thought my own kind would be the ones to make me miserable when i am all alone here with no family or anyone to support me. the canadian boss in the other department is so much nicer and lets her team do what they want! I will try to see if i can switch over there because i am not the kind of person that is into mental manipulation and i definitely do not support making immigrants slog whilst all the canadians happily go home at 5.30pm. Yesterday was the limit, she told us that we are lucky she is giving us flexible hours which is basically 10am till 9pm . what is so flexible about that!

Well guys i graduated in international studies and french studies so i am bilingual in both english and french and i did my degree here in canada. Right now i'm working as a sales and marketing coordinator and i have 5 months full time experience with another department same company, and 7 months with this department. If anyone can help me find another bilingual job which is not like a telemarketer it would be great. You know i have to do my normal job like admin stuff in the morning and then 3 solid hours of telemarketing at night. It is so much stress.


PLEASE HELP ME FIND ANOTHER JOB!! PLEASE !! i will search in the job section here as well. who knows life is unpredictable i may find something!

wish me luck!!!
Dhadkan--->