Quebec accuses international company of exploiting foreign workers
Management responds to immigrant worker center's claims.
The Immigrant Workers Centre in Montreal has filed a class action lawsuit accusing two French companies, Trésor and Newrest. The plaintiffs allege that the former actively recruited employees abroad or in Canada on tourist visas. And then sent the illegal labor to Newrest, which supplies in-flight catering to airlines.
At the same time, the lawsuit says, the employers deliberately manipulated the people they hired, promising them full registration and legalization. At the same time, because of their vulnerable status, the employees were treated abominably:
"The defendants treated the members of the class like objects: controllable, disposable, replaceable and exploitable. These experiences were profoundly degrading and dehumanizing for the members of the class and undermined their dignity, their psychological security and their self-esteem," the lawyers' appeal said.
A total of 400 people were affected by the companies' actions. Lawyers claim that they were regularly paid less than the minimum wage, threatened with deportation, and not paid for overtime and insurance. In addition, the hired employees were deceived because the employer had neither the ability nor the intention to formalize the workers under Canadian law.
Newrest took the claims seriously, but responded to the allegations with a categorical denial. The company has been operating in Canada since 2010, has not previously been sanctioned by local authorities, but has now announced the launch of an internal investigation.
