A hotel chain in Manitoba has been ordered to pay over $100,000 to three foreign workers following a denial of the company’s appeal by the provincial labour board. The Western Star Inn & Suites failed to provide supporting documents and presented unreliable witnesses in their defense against claims made by the employees at their Melita location. The labour board’s decision, issued on Tuesday, highlighted concerns raised during a seven-day hearing this summer, including long work hours, stressful conditions, and inadequate training and staffing.
Reports from CBC News last year revealed that foreign workers at the hotel chain, based in Saskatchewan, were subjected to seven-day workweeks with up to 12-hour shifts on average. One of the affected workers, Victor Padilla Ruiz from Mexico, accused the hotel of exploiting him by failing to fulfill promises related to legal status in Canada.
The labour board found inconsistencies in the statements made by witnesses called by Western Star, noting that some statements were unreliable and contradicted evidence submitted by the workers. The board also criticized the payroll manager for his illogical and inconsistent statements, indicating a lack of proper operation management.
The amount owed to the workers was calculated based on investigations conducted by an employment standards officer in 2024, with minor revisions. Padilla Ruiz was awarded over $86,500, while two other workers, Montserrat Del Toro and Rajbinder Gill Mathias, were set to receive around $23,100 and $28,300, respectively.
Gill Mathias, who came from India in 2022, expressed her lack of awareness regarding labor standards and claimed to have been coerced by the company director to withdraw money from her bank account. The board ordered Western Star to repay the amount withdrawn but rejected an additional claim for $7,000.
Del Toro, a Mexican national employed irregularly and sometimes paid in cash, testified about working long hours for less than the minimum wage. The board found that some of the claimed amount for work in Saskatchewan fell outside their jurisdiction and advised Del Toro to seek resolution through a separate proceeding in that province.
Ineligibility to hire temporary foreign workers was imposed on Western Star in May due to unpaid penalties, and the company was fined $3,250 for violations related to employing foreign workers. Immigration and Citizenship Canada’s list of non-compliant employers highlighted the company’s failure to meet employment conditions for foreign workers and breaches in hiring laws.
