Latest news with #workersupport
BBC News
5 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Lindsey Oil Refinery owners urged to financially support workers
The Energy Minister has written to the owners of the ill-fated Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery calling on them to "do the decent thing" and financially support affected workers after the company filed for a letter to Prax Group owners Sanjeev and Arani Soosaipillai, Michael Shanks said they had a responsibility to staff and the government was "urgently exploring what support can be offered to the workforce at this difficult time".At least 420 jobs are at risk at the refinery in North East Lincolnshire, with 120 HGV drivers made redundant from the company's main delivery firm on said the liquidator was "urgently assessing whether a sale of the refinery is possible". According to Unite the Union, 1,000 jobs could be affected when taking into account contractors and the supply chain, after Prax Group fell into administration at the end of Monday, administrator Teneo said a few of the 137 employees who had been made redundant at delivery firm Axis Logistics would be kept on "for a limited period to support the orderly closure of the business" after it "suffered" as a result of the wider group the letter, Shanks said the official receiver's assessment would be "difficult given the state the business had been left in"."Rightly, urgent questions are now being raised about what support will be offered to them by yourselves, as the owners," he said. The minister revealed that in a letter from the owners on 30 June workers were told they were "the lifeblood of Prax, sustaining the business through its many successes" and their "loyalty, resilience and hard work" had helped build their wrote: "We strongly encourage you to do the decent thing and publicly commit to make a voluntary financial contribution to support workers at PLOR [Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery]. "This could be through direct financial support to them or funding for retraining schemes to ensure that they can pursue new job opportunities if the refinery cannot be sold."He told the couple to engage with the workforce in considering options."A public show of support for the workers from yourselves would go some way to demonstrate your regret over the insolvency of PLOR and the core values of responsible business ownership."It is the very least they deserve," he Group bought the refinery from French company Total in 2021. The company's financial reports indicated the plant recorded losses of about £75m between the takeover and February Official Receiver is ensuring continued safe operations at the site, the government previously Group and its administrators have been contacted for comment. Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
CBC
16-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
No solution in sight for N.S. workers owed thousands of dollars by former employer
Two Halifax-area workers still haven't seen the thousands of dollars in unpaid wages and other pay they're owed by their former employer, despite rulings in their favour from the provincial body that handles these issues. In June 2024, Akira Arruda and Teri Boates filed complaints with the province's Labour Standards Division against Halifax-based marketing company Arbuckle Media, claiming they were owed various forms of pay. But after the company stopped operating and after months of waiting for a decision, it now seems unlikely the money will reach the workers, who were laid off. "My trust in the system has completely failed me," Arruda said. The money could have helped pay the bills, especially considering the high cost of living now, she said. According to decision documents obtained by CBC News, the Labour Standards Division found in both cases that Arbuckle Media had violated the Labour Standards Code. And on April 11, the division ordered the company to pay more than $10,000 owed to Arruda in unpaid wages and pay in lieu of notice. Arbuckle Media was also ordered to pay more than $6,000 owed to Boates in unpaid wages, vacation pay and pay in lieu of notice. But on May 2, a labour standards officer emailed both workers, saying the division was closing the cases, deeming them "uncollectible," according to emails provided by Arruda and Boates. "We are very tired," said Boates, who suffered a stroke in 2023. After being laid off by the company in July 2024, she said not having health insurance or the money she was owed made it harder to pay for things like medications during her recovery. "It feels like we shouldn't have to work this hard for something that has been deemed owed." In the emails, the labour standards officer said their office had sent a "demand" to TD Bank. "Unfortunately, at that time, TD confirmed that while they had an account for Arbuckle Media, there were no funds available in the account," the officer wrote. The officer went on to say they contacted another financial institution, Wealthsimple, and received the same response. "These demands place a hold on the account for some time but eventually do expire," the officer explained. "If funds are deposited into either account while the hold is active, the funds will be sent to our office." The emails also say that Arbuckle Media did not appeal the decisions to the Labour Board. Arruda called the more than $10,000 owed to her a life-changing amount of money. "I went through the stages of grief with the money that I was owed and I've accepted that I'm never going to get it," she said. Despite that acceptance, Arruda said she's troubled by what she's learned about how little protection there is for her. "I … consider it a complete failure of the system to have dealt with it for nine months and for nothing to come of it." Evidence in both cases was provided by the workers. The decision documents detail how the president of the company, Joel Arbuckle, acknowledged the company was no longer operating, but that he "has not responded to communications from the Labour Standards Division" for further information. In an emailed statement, Arbuckle said that Arbuckle Media ceased operations after unsustainable financial losses. "Like many small businesses, we did our best to navigate difficult conditions, but ultimately could not meet all obligations before closing." Arbuckle said the company is "functionally insolvent" and has no assets to satisfy the Labour Standards Division order. He said he has made efforts to support former employees in "transitioning to new roles." The executive director of the Halifax Workers' Action Centre said these cases are emblematic of a larger issue. "Our current Labour Standards Division has very weak enforcement policies and not a lot of mechanisms in order to get justice when the employer doesn't want to play ball," said Sydnee Blum. Blum said Nova Scotia should implement measures like those in British Columbia, where employers who violate labour standards and are ordered to pay wages must pay fines that increase for subsequent violations within three years of each contravention. CBC News has reached out to Nova Scotia's Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration for comment.
