Former hotel workers call for action in Thompson
Former staffers at a Thompson hotel are calling for the general manager's removal following a Manitoba Labour Board decision that they'd been wrongfully terminated.
'She's still managing,' said Jmillson Santos, a former employee at the Best Western Thompson Hotel & Suites. 'How can she still be able to do (that)?'
Three Filipino migrant workers were found by the tribunal to be wrongfully terminated after they submitted a complaint about their employer to the federal government. The housekeepers had worked at the hotel on a closed work permit, meaning they were contractually tied to the company while in Canada.
The staff have alleged emotional abuse on the job, including being threatened by their former boss to be sent back to the Philippines.
The work environment caused them to apply for open vulnerable work permits — allowing them to seek employment elsewhere — and report Best Western Thompson to federal authorities.
In a May ruling, the labour board concluded the workers were fired, at least in part, because they reported their employer.
Remedies haven't yet been sorted. The board allowed for the hotel and its former staff to take remedial action together. The parties can also request for the board to settle the issue, but a request hadn't been made as of Wednesday morning, according to Manitoba Labour Board officer Dan Hodgert.
Former workers Abbygail Enriquez and Jamaicah Malindatu joined Santos in calling for the removal of Ethel Timbang, the Best Western Thompson's general manager.
'There is no point for us fighting this if she's still working there,' Malindatu said.
Neither Best Western nor the Thompson Chamber of Commerce, where Timbang is president, responded to Free Press requests by print deadline.
Timbang won't comment until a final resolution is reached, her lawyer, Kevin Tabachnick, wrote in an email.
'The company itself has no repercussions,' asserted Diwa Marcelino, an organizer with grassroots advocate Migrante Manitoba.
'The manager is playing a part that's being played out with migrant workers all over Canada,' he said. 'Because there's no repercussions, companies operate with impunity and workers suffer.'
A federal investigation of Best Western Thompson found the hotel was non-compliant in three regards, but the failure was 'compliant with justification,' meaning it was unintentional and no further action would be taken, per the Manitoba Labour Board decision.
Employment and Social Development Canada didn't provide details about the investigation Thursday.
The labour board decision should be made public on the entity's website within the next two weeks, Hodgert said.
gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com
Gabrielle PichéReporter
Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle.
Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
6 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Former hotel workers call for action in Thompson
Former staffers at a Thompson hotel are calling for the general manager's removal following a Manitoba Labour Board decision that they'd been wrongfully terminated. 'She's still managing,' said Jmillson Santos, a former employee at the Best Western Thompson Hotel & Suites. 'How can she still be able to do (that)?' Three Filipino migrant workers were found by the tribunal to be wrongfully terminated after they submitted a complaint about their employer to the federal government. The housekeepers had worked at the hotel on a closed work permit, meaning they were contractually tied to the company while in Canada. The staff have alleged emotional abuse on the job, including being threatened by their former boss to be sent back to the Philippines. The work environment caused them to apply for open vulnerable work permits — allowing them to seek employment elsewhere — and report Best Western Thompson to federal authorities. In a May ruling, the labour board concluded the workers were fired, at least in part, because they reported their employer. Remedies haven't yet been sorted. The board allowed for the hotel and its former staff to take remedial action together. The parties can also request for the board to settle the issue, but a request hadn't been made as of Wednesday morning, according to Manitoba Labour Board officer Dan Hodgert. Former workers Abbygail Enriquez and Jamaicah Malindatu joined Santos in calling for the removal of Ethel Timbang, the Best Western Thompson's general manager. 'There is no point for us fighting this if she's still working there,' Malindatu said. Neither Best Western nor the Thompson Chamber of Commerce, where Timbang is president, responded to Free Press requests by print deadline. Timbang won't comment until a final resolution is reached, her lawyer, Kevin Tabachnick, wrote in an email. 'The company itself has no repercussions,' asserted Diwa Marcelino, an organizer with grassroots advocate Migrante Manitoba. 'The manager is playing a part that's being played out with migrant workers all over Canada,' he said. 'Because there's no repercussions, companies operate with impunity and workers suffer.' A federal investigation of Best Western Thompson found the hotel was non-compliant in three regards, but the failure was 'compliant with justification,' meaning it was unintentional and no further action would be taken, per the Manitoba Labour Board decision. Employment and Social Development Canada didn't provide details about the investigation Thursday. The labour board decision should be made public on the entity's website within the next two weeks, Hodgert said. Gabrielle PichéReporter Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle. Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
13 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Supporters of removing barriers at Portage and Main excited to take steps 46 years in the making
Brent Bellamy plans to be one of the first to cross Portage and Main — and he plans to do so in style. The Winnipeg intersection will open to pedestrian traffic Friday morning for the first time since 1979, and Bellamy will be wearing a custom T-shirt with results from the 2018 plebiscite in which 65 per cent of Winnipeggers voted to keep the streets closed. 'I'll be there first thing in the morning. I might cross back and forth all day, actually, just for fun,' Bellamy said Thursday. 'It's obviously long overdue.' The creative director for Number Ten Architectural Group and Free Press columnist has been one of many long-standing advocates for removing the concrete barricades that prevented Winnipeggers from crossing the intersection for nearly 50 years. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Brent Bellamy at Portage and Main the day before the crosswalks are going to become active, allowing people to cross the famous intersection, legally, for the first time since 1979. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Brent Bellamy at Portage and Main the day before the crosswalks are going to become active, allowing people to cross the famous intersection, legally, for the first time since 1979. 'At one time it was the centre of our city, and it was where people came together,' he said. 'The storefronts in every direction are empty, and the plazas are empty all the time. It's really just a place void of life.' With nearly 20,000 people living and working between the intersection, Bellamy believes people returning to the sidewalk will help bring a new energy and life to the downtown. 'I don't expect the world is going to change in one day, but I think there are lots of good things happening already.'–Brent Bellamy 'I don't expect the world is going to change in one day, but I think there are lots of good things happening already,' Bellamy said. 'Reintroducing Winnipeg's history back into our consciousness will be an important thing.' He hopes that will someday include the city revitalizing the area using art and sculptures to tell the story of Winnipeg's history. Adam Dooley, another prominent supporter for opening the intersection, said he's thrilled the city is correcting what he called a 45-year-old mistake. 'It's a time of hope and progress for how we're looking at how we should be building our cities,' said Dooley, who was a spokesperson for the Vote Open campaign prior to the 2018 plebiscite under then-mayor Brian Bowman. 'Cities need to be designed for people first and cars second.' At the time, Winnipeggers voted 'no' by nearly a 2-1 margin in the non-binding plebiscite. Dooley hopes the public takes pride in the change as he believes it will help people feel safer and help visitors better navigate the area. Mayor Scott Gillingham will do something Friday Winnipeggers haven't been able to do legally in 46 years — walk across Portage and Main. Gillingham, with Coun. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of the public works committee, and representatives from construction company MD Steele, will take the first steps following a brief ceremony planned for 10:30 a.m. Mayor Scott Gillingham will do something Friday Winnipeggers haven't been able to do legally in 46 years — walk across Portage and Main. Gillingham, with Coun. Janice Lukes, chairwoman of the public works committee, and representatives from construction company MD Steele, will take the first steps following a brief ceremony planned for 10:30 a.m. 'I simply plan to walk across the street, when the walk light tells me I can,' Gillingham said Wednesday. The mayor stressed patience with the intersection, which closed to pedestrians in 1979 as foot traffic was redirected to an underground concourse. 'I once again please ask motorists, cyclists and pedestrians to be patient,' he said. 'Slow down, slow down at all intersections, but certainly at Portage and Main. This is going to be an adjustment. For 46 years, pedestrians have not been permitted to cross that intersection. Now they will be permitted to cross that intersection. 'So, let's just have everybody be patient.' The opening will occur despite a 2018 citywide plebiscite where 65 per cent voted 'no' to opening the intersection. The mayor said the move will help revitalize the area. 'Opening Portage and Main to pedestrians is not going to save downtown, but it is one important piece of many pieces of investment that are happening simultaneously throughout the downtown.' Gillingham said a report on the underground concourse will come forward this fall. — Kevin Rollason He intends on celebrating the occasion by walking across the intersection with other Vote Open colleagues. Former mayor Glen Murray, another significant proponent of foot traffic at Portage and Main, applauded the move but said it won't change much. 'Opened or closed, the serious issue is how everything functions,' said Murray, who served on the Exchange District Business Improvement Zone for eight years. 'It's good news, but it has a marginal impact.' Murray said the open intersection won't change the city's ability to retain strong business development, which he said is affected by heavy, undisturbed crime and traffic congestion caused by poor street planning. 'Every time I go back to the city for a couple of months, I just go for a long walk through the city or go on my bike, and I'm always sad to see what's going on downtown,' he said. 'We're just not seeming to get it.' Murray, who has residences in Winnipeg and Toronto, said Portage and Main needs to be restructured so it is cohesive for everyone. He believes parks, residential developments, businesses, and pedestrians should be spotted every three blocks within either direction of the two streets. 'This moves us in the direction we need to go, which is a downtown that invites people to the heart of the city that makes it an exciting place to go.'–Loren Remillard Loren Remillard, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, expects more people to be engaged with downtown once the blockades are permanently axed. 'This moves us in the direction we need to go, which is a downtown that invites people to the heart of the city that makes it an exciting place to go. People walking and milling around downtown who don't normally come for activities will start to build more momentum that we need.' Remillard knows crossing an intersection is not the be-all and end-all or the cure to what ails downtown, but he said it is a key ingredient to becoming a people-centred area. 'It's been a long time coming, and we're hoping it will create a vibrant atmosphere with people walking, engaging in events, and activities downtown,' he said. Remillard said members from the Chamber will be crossing the street Friday and working with partners and businesses to celebrate a historic Winnipeg moment.
Winnipeg Free Press
14 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Co-op residents miffed after five-year-old hurt by neighbour's bulldogs
Residents of a West Kildonan housing complex are rallying behind a distraught mother, who says her five-year-old was attacked by a pair of large dogs while she played in an outdoor common area. Despite reporting the incident to the city's Animal Services, Judy Cymbalisty believes little has been done to protect her daughter. The child suffered injuries to the back of her head, ear and lower body, and is afraid to leave home as a result, she said. The June 6 incident has prompted 94 residents of the Seven Oaks Garden Housing Co-operative to sign a petition demanding the animals be removed from the 134-unit complex. TYLER SEARLE / FREE PRESS Judy Cymbalisty and her dog Sadie. Cymbalisty's five-year-old daughter was attacked by a pair of large dogs while she played in an outdside. 'I'm worried about the dogs being here. I'm worried that other kids will get hurt and I'm worried about my daughter's mental state,' Cymbalisty said, speaking Thursday from the complex on Jack Donner Drive. 'There's a lot of kids here and, as long as those dogs are here, in my mind, their safety is at risk.' Cymbalisty said her daughter, Brooklynn, went to meet a friend outside when two American bulldogs forced their way through a storm door and attacked her from behind. A bystander and the pet owner pulled the dogs off of her. Brooklynn ran to her home and into the arms of her father, Cymbalisty said. 'She comes in the house and she's crying saying, 'Daddy, I'm never going outside anymore. Those dogs got me.' That's when he realized there was blood all over her head,' she said. Cymbalisty, who was at work, rushed home and drove Brooklynn to the Children's Hospital. In addition to multiple minor puncture wounds on her head, the child had scrapes and bruises, and a single puncture wound near her pelvis. The dogs ripped her shorts and panties during the attack, Cymbalisty said. SUPPLIED Brooklynn Cymbalisty, 5, was attacked by a pair of large dogs while she played in an outdoor common area. 'For the grace of God, it could have been a hell of a lot worse. Physically, she is OK, but mentally not so good,' she said. 'When she hears a dog barking she comes running to the house crying.' Cymbalisty reported the incident to Animal Services on the same day. She said city staff went to the pet owner's home at least once, but the dogs are still there. The Free Press tried to contact the pets' owner at their home on Thursday afternoon, but no one answered the door. Two dogs could be heard barking inside. Cymbalisty said the animals should have been seized and assessed to determine whether they could be a threat to others. 'Animal Services has done zero to contact us, to tell us where we are standing on this. So, are they OK with the dogs biting a five-year-old and just letting them stay in the same area?' Cymbalisty said. 'Our complex is now dealing with it, and unfortunately, that's a slow process.' Shawn Orne, site management co-ordinator at the co-op, confirmed the complex's leadership team has received a copy of the residents' petition. He said the community is home to more than 260 people, including many children. SUPPLIED Brooklynn Cymbalisty. 'The board, like the community, is taking every possible action that we can,' he said. 'None of us are happy.' Orne said the co-op has retained legal counsel and is exploring options to have the animals removed. Bambilyn Shoffner, another resident, helped launch the petition and gather the signatures. 'I actually live right behind the dogs… I'm extremely familiar with the dogs and the lack of security,' she said. 'It's just dangerous, and Animal Services hasn't stepped in, in a way that I would deem appropriate.' Shoffner said she formerly sat on the co-op board and was aware of a previous incident in which the dogs rushed into the home of an elderly neighbour and knocked her to the ground. Efforts to reach the senior were unsuccessful, and the Free Press was unable to independently verify this account. Orne said he is aware of other complaints and incidents involving the two dogs. Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. It is unclear what steps the city has taken to address Cymbalisty's complaint. The City of Winnipeg confirmed it is investigating, but declined to provide any specifics. SUPPLIED Brooklynn Cymbalisty. Investigators typically gather statements from the complainant, meet with the dog owner and place the animal in quarantine for a 10-day period, either in their home or at a kennel. In cases where a dog has bit another animal or person more than once, they may be given an 'at risk' designation, the spokesperson said. The city confirmed the dogs have been involved in at least one other incident. Tyler SearleReporter Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press's city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic's creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler. Every piece of reporting Tyler produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
