For immediate release
August 9, 2012

Toronto, ON—Progressive individuals and organizations are set to bring out the integral experiences of workers in Canada for the upcoming two-day conference, “Workers’ Struggles Amidst Neoliberal Globalization.” The conference will highlight the importance of transnational community organizing in exposing and countering neoliberal policies that affect all workers, especially marginalized communities. The two-day nationwide conference is set to highlight the historic role of the working class in building a movement for social change. They will advance the role of marginalized communities as central to building a movement for social change. Tackling the issues faced by transnational workers, organizers Reuben Saramugam and Qara Clemente from the Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance (UKPC/FCYA-ON) and the Philippine Women Centre of Ontario, along with Tania Das Gupta, professor of Equity Studies and Sociology at York University, and Evelyn Encalada from Justicia for Migrant Workers, will share their research and their experiences as workers and community organizers. Their presentations will be part of three other panels for the weekend conference taking place on August 11 and 12 at United Steel Workers Hall in Toronto.

In Canada, explicit statements have been made by the Conservative government that posit the flexibilization of labour as the way to achieve economic stability and to addressing the immigration system. Through government implemented programs like the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP) and the Live-In-Caregiver Program (LCP), workers are drawn from the Global South to fill Canada’s economic needs. With these neoliberal immigration programs, the exploitation of temporary workers also intensifies. York University Professor Tania Das Gupta and Chairperson of UKPC/FCYA-ON, Reuben Saramugam will share theoretical and statistical information that concretely illustrate neoliberal restructuring in labour and immigration. Their presentations will be invaluable to understanding the economic factors that shape and contextualize the experiences and struggles of transnational workers.

Justicia for Migrant Workers community organizer Evelyn Encalada will bring her experience in working with seasonal farm workers and other temporary workers in Canada who fulfill the agricultural necessity of “local” food production.  She will also outline the particular conditions faced by these transnational workers—who originate chiefly from countries of the Caribbean as well as Mexico—that have left workers unacknowledged as economic contributors to Canada yet are denied status.  Likewise, Qara Clemente will outline her work with the Philippine Women Centre of Ontario and how neoliberal immigration policies and cutbacks relegate Filipino Canadian women into low-wage caregiving or health support jobs to satisfy Canada’s childcare and healthcare needs. Their care is afforded by middle and upper-class individuals and families, yet does not genuinely address the growing need for health and childcare for all Canadians.  Racialised and working class communities become intensely affected by these neoliberal policies as their role to fill Canada’s cheap labour needs strip them of their rights to genuinely settle and integrate in a country that continues to be built upon their labour.

“Workers’ Struggles Amidst Neoliberal Globalization” will mark the advancement of an evolving discussion and future action to be taken in advancing workers’ struggles transnationally. Registration is available online and all are welcome to attend.

“Workers’ Struggles Amidst Neoliberal Globalization”
National Conference
August 11 & 12, 2012
Conference will start at 9 AM, Breakfast at 8 AM
United Steelworkers Hall
25 Cecil Street
Toronto, ON Canada
Registration fee is $20 (including meals and conference materials)
Organized by the Counterspin secretariat (Congress of Progressive Filipino Canadians & allies)

REGISTER NOW: http://bit.ly/workersconference

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For more information, contact:
Bryan Taguba
(416) 519-2553
siklab-on@magkaisacentre.org
www.magkaisacentre.org
Facebook and Twitter: Siklab Ontario