A hotel chain must pay more than $100,000 to three foreign workers employed at one of its locations in Manitoba after the province's labour board denied the company's appeal.
Western Star Inn & Suites called unreliable witnesses and failed to file documents that supported claims against the three people who worked at its Melita location, the Manitoba Labour Board said in a written decision dated Tuesday.
The ruling rejected an appeal from the hotel chain that followed seven days of hearings this summer in which the labour board heard "much concerning testimony" about how employees were treated, the decision said.
That includes long work hours, stressful working conditions and insufficient training and staffing, it said.
CBC News reported late last year that some foreign employees at the Saskatchewan-based hotel chain worked seven days a week, and up to 12 hours a day on average.
Victor Padilla Ruiz, one of the three workers named in the labour board's decision, told CBC News previously that the hotel took advantage of him after promising to help him get legal status in Canada. He is from Mexico.
The board said witnesses testified about unfulfilled promises of work permits and safety concerns but it could only rule on Manitoba labour code violations and unpaid wages.
It said five employees called as witnesses by Western Star tried to contradict the evidence submitted by the workers but called much of what they said unreliable.
Among other things, the board said they confirmed Padilla Ruiz was employed at Western Star despite the appellants previously claiming he did not work at the hotel and was only living there.
The decision also said statements by payroll manager Amrinder Singh Gill "were illogical and inconsistent with a properly run operation."
Owners ordered to pay $100K in wages say they didn't know foreign workers were employed at their hotel
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Gill denied having any knowledge of the hotel's day-to-day operations and said he'd assumed all employees had work permits, the decision said.
The board said he "took no steps and had no records" confirming staff had employment agreements or could lawfully work in Canada.
"Even the appellant admitted in final argument that the hotel was mismanaged," the decision said.
