Toronto (Canada), May 28 (Inditop): Filipina nanny Magdalene Gordo, who is one of two caregivers alleging that Indian origin Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla mistreated them, is likely to be exposed as a liar at a news conference here today.
According to a Toronto-based father of four, Gordo walked off the job given to her at his home with a sham claim that she had been treated harshly.The description of Gordo`s working behaviour presented by George Roswell, a Mississauga information technology specialist, roughly parallels Dhalla’s account of her dealings with Gordo, reports the Globe and Mail.Through her lawyer, Gordo said she quit because she had been forced to work on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, but had not been adequately remunerated.
Roswell said he and his wife sponsored Gordo as a live-in foreign caregiver and brought her to Toronto from Taiwan just before Christmas, 2007.
His wife met her at the airport with winter clothes. She was told she would not have to start work until January 1 – and, in fact, did not start work until January 2. Her contract was dated December 28, although she was paid for the week preceding her start-date, Roswell said.He said she was welcomed into his family. She accompanied them to church on Christmas Day and given gifts. Between Christmas and New Year’s, the family took her on an outing to Niagara Falls. Roswell said he and his wife repeatedly asked her if she was satisfied with her job and working conditions and was assured that she was. He said he also went with her to open a bank account so she wouldn’t have to keep cash around and could be paid directly from Roswell’s account to her own.Over the weeks she was with the family, her behaviour started to change, Roswell said. After meeting with other nannies, she talked about better-paying jobs to be found elsewhere. Roswell paid her the minimum wage with a deduction for room and board.
Suddenly, after less than a month, she announced she was homesick and needed surgery for internal bleeding, and she quit.
A man with an SUV picked her up and drove her away.
Gordo complained about the Dhallas 15 months later at a meeting organized by Ontario cabinet ministers, then to a Toronto Star reporter and later to the parliamentary committee on citizenship and immigration.Dhalla yesterday repeated earlier statements that other members of her family hired, managed and paid caregivers, and that no one who came into her family’s home was maltreated.
Dhalla lost her job as Liberal critic for youth and multiculturalism after the allegations by Gordo and fellow caregiver Richelyn Tongson surfaced.
The caregivers have said through their lawyer that they will not make any more statements to the media.
