"Temporary Foreign Worker program abuse alleged,"

Alleging emotional abuse and unfair scheduling and terminations at their Thompson workplace, a group of Filipino migrants are calling for change to Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker program.

“She (was) making us a slave in the hotel,” Jmillson Santos said of his former manager...

Verbal abuse, wage theft and unfair terminations were among the allegations they made Monday...

Santos gathered a crew. The first seven months in northern Manitoba went well, he said. The Filipinos worked as cleaners and kitchen staff.

Things took a turn in February, when two employees weren’t scheduled for days off they’d been promised: the women had worked almost two months straight and wanted two free days, they alleged, adding they raised concerns with management.

The following months brought verbal abuse, constant monitoring and pettiness from a manager, they said.

The supervisor threatened to send the group back to the Philippines, Santos relayed. “We don’t think we deserve that.”

He said the group called the federal government’s tip line to report abuse; they believe the manager found out and sought ways to terminate them. At least five people were let go in recent weeks, the group claims.

The Filipinos didn’t switch jobs because they were bound by their Temporary Foreign Worker contracts, Santos noted. People using such permits must work for the employer who brought them to Canada or apply for a new work permit with a different company...