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Winnipeg Free Press
12 hours ago
- Business
- 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
2 days ago
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba Labour Board rules against Thompson hotel in Temporary Foreign Worker program case
A Thompson hotel has been found guilty of wrongfully firing temporary foreign workers who contacted Ottawa about alleged mistreatment. The Manitoba Labour Board ruled against the Best Western Thompson Hotel & Suites last month. The 34-page decision, reviewed by the Free Press, hasn't yet been made public. 'We thought that we were not gonna win this,' said Jamaicah Malindatu, one of three Filipino migrants to see their case through the Manitoba Labour Board. '(I'm) so happy.' She and colleagues filed identical applications in May 2024. The workers had been terminated from their housekeeping roles that April and May. Ruth Bonneville / Free Press files Migrant workers, Jmillson Santos (right) and John Maravilla (left) two others who wished to remain anonymous (rear) Diwa Marcelino of Migrante Manitoba at a 2024 press conference about their case. Ruth Bonneville / Free Press files Migrant workers, Jmillson Santos (right) and John Maravilla (left) two others who wished to remain anonymous (rear) Diwa Marcelino of Migrante Manitoba at a 2024 press conference about their case. The cuts came shortly after their manager learned the trio had sent a complaint to the federal government's tip line for temporary foreign workers, the labour board decision reads. Tensions had been building, the workers testified. Malindatu was one of at least five Filipinos hired during the summer of 2023. She and peers came on closed work permits, meaning they were tied to employment at the hotel. The group came from China; they'd worked as hotel staff in the region of Macau. Jmillson Santos, one of the crew, knew the Best Western Thompson's general manager. The manager contacted him looking for staff, the labour board report reads. Neither manager Ethel Timbang nor her lawyer responded to interview requests by print deadline Wednesday. Timbang is president of the Thompson Chamber of Commerce. 'We thought that we were not gonna win this.'–Jamaicah Malindatu Best Western didn't answer questions by print deadline. Timbang told the Manitoba Labour Board the housekeepers didn't meet the daily room cleaning quota they were expected to, nor did they sufficiently track time spent cleaning each room. She cited cellphone use during work hours, unnecessary overtime, purposefully working slow and disrespect to another staffer as strikes against the Filipino workers. Meanwhile, the workers alleged emotional abuse. Timbang monitored them over security footage and yelled at them via radio call that other staff could hear, they said. Relations worsened after a Feb. 12 meeting where the manager swore and threatened to send the workers back to the Philippines, the workers testified. Timbang denied uttering the threat. Afterwards, Malindatu and colleagues Abbygail Enriquez and John Rafael Maravilla applied for open vulnerable work permits, which would allow them to seek employment elsewhere in Canada. All three were granted such permits. The trio also contacted Ottawa's tip line for temporary foreign worker abuse despite being scared of repercussions, the labour board document reads. A federal government staffer called the hotel April 15, 2024. Within two weeks, the general manager had given 'letters of direction' to the trio, alleging they'd challenged the employer's right to discipline and schedule, among other things. Both Malindatu and Enriquez were terminated — on May 1 and 2, 2024, respectively — for not meeting a 16-room cleaning standard earlier that week. Maravilla's job ended late April, after he refused to sign a letter of direction from Best Western, the labour board decision reads. The trio took their experience to the Manitoba Labour Board that May. They believed the terminations violated the Labour Relations Act — and ultimately, the tribunal sided with them. It's unlikely the workers would apply for vulnerable open work permits and contact the feds if there weren't a threat of being sent back to the Philippines, the board reasoned. 'This is a very typical case in terms of exploitation.'–Diwa Marcelino 'The issues raised in (the manager's) letters of direction seemingly were not borne out by the evidence or at least were not present in the evidence that was before the Board,' the document says. For example, the allegation of deliberately working slow to incur overtime wasn't corroborated or even testified to. A 16-room requirement wasn't documented as being an unmet standard until late April, the board said. 'The board finds that the timing of the letters of direction and the letters of termination and the stated reasons therefore are more than coincidental,' the decision reads. As such, the tribunal ruled the workers' complaint to Ottawa 'at the very least' influenced Timbang's decision to terminate the staff, which violates the act in question. Labour board remedies for the workers are still being considered. Canadian residents and people with open work permits can leave a bad employer. It's not so easy for closed work permit users, said Santos, 38. 'We (had) to find a way on how we (could) get out of the hotel,' he said. He testified at a labour board hearing earlier this year. He'd filed his own case, but it didn't move forward; he believes it's because he became a permanent resident before his termination. 'This is a very typical case in terms of exploitation,' said Diwa Marcelino, an organizer with grassroots advocate Migrante Manitoba. 'It's also a very rare case. We usually don't reach this far and have the exploitation … verified and also recognized by the government.' Migrante advised the Filipino workers during the labour board process. The workers represented themselves; Best Western Thompson used a law firm. An Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada investigation found Best Western Thompson was non-compliant in three regards, but the failure was 'compliant with justification' — meaning it was unintentional and no further action would be taken, a Manitoba Labour Board document reads. Neither IRCC nor Employment and Social Development Canada responded to questions by print deadline. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives is calling for a 'more proactive system' provincially to investigate Labour Relations Act infractions and greater access to open work permits, said Niall Harney, a senior researcher at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives' Manitoba branch. Santos now works at a hospital and as a flight attendant in Thompson. All three migrants who successfully filed to the Manitoba Labour Board have jobs, he added. 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.
