The B.C. Employment Standards Tribunal has ordered the un-named Indian restaurant in Surrey to pay $32,702 in unpaid wages and interest to Brijesh Mohan, who was brought to Canada as a temporary foreign worker. Syed Hussan, co-ordinator with the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change says some temporary workers pay up to two years wages in fees to private recruiters to get into the Canadian work market. As a result, these workers are often reluctant to complain about their jobs for fear they may be sent home in debt. He said Ontario has banned recruitment fees, and that Manitoba and Nova Scotia have strong laws governing them, but B.C. does not.
SURREY – A migrant Indian Tandoori cook has won over $32,000 from an Indo-Canadian restaurant after the B.C. Employment Standards Tribunal ruled in his favor.
The Tribunal has ordered the un-named Indian restaurant in Surrey to pay $32,702 in unpaid wages and interest to Brijesh Mohan, who was brought to Canada as a temporary foreign worker.
Advocates for migrant workers and independent businesses say the case points to inadequacies in Canada’s immigration system, which they say provides more advantages to high-income earners over workers from lower socio-economic backgrounds, reported CBC News.
In its decision, the tribunal said that from November 2016 to February 2017, Mohan worked 12-hour days six days a week at the restaurant as a Tandoori cook.
The decision says Mohan claimed the restaurant failed to pay him regular and overtime wages, statutory holiday pay and annual vacation pay.
Including interest, the restaurant has been ordered to pay Mohan $32,702 plus $3,000 in administrative fees.
The restaurant appealed the decision, claiming B.C.’s Employment Standards Branch disregarded some of the evidence it presented and was biased against the employer.
The appeal was dismissed in May.
Restaurant director Shailendra Bitton, who refused to comment on the decision, told CBC News: “This is a great injustice.”
Canada’s temporary foreign workers program is designed to allow employers to “hire foreign workers to fill temporary labour and skill shortages,” according to a federal government website.
Typically, employers have to submit a labour market impact assessment to show they cannot find a Canadian or permanent resident to do the job.
“The program is designed to allow for the exploitation of people,” said Syed Hussan, co-ordinator with the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change. “It treats people as commodities.”
Hussan says some temporary workers pay up to two years wages in fees to private recruiters to get into the Canadian work market. As a result, these workers are often reluctant to complain about their jobs for fear they may be sent home in debt.
He said Ontario has banned recruitment fees, and that Manitoba and Nova Scotia have strong laws governing them, but B.C. does not.
Further complicating matters, workers’ visas are tied directly to their employer. If they want to switch jobs, they have to find a business willing to pay up to $1,000 for a labour market impact assessment, Hussan said.
