Workers recover wages from New Brunswick seafood company
Summary and headline written by AI from the source article. How we work
Juan Pablo Lerma Lopez and Adriana de Leon Silva, migrant workers from Mexico, won a lawsuit against LeBreton & Sons Fisheries Ltd. in New Brunswick, Canada, after the company failed to pay them wages they were owed.
The two workers came to Canada through the Temporary Foreign Worker program in 2023 to process lobster. Lopez alleged LeBreton did not provide him with the 30 hours of work per week guaranteed in his contract, leaving him unable to support himself.
He and Silva both received termination notices after seeking help from the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, though the company claimed the firings were due to a lack of work. LeBreton & Sons Fisheries Ltd. has faced prior penalties for violating rules related to the Temporary Foreign Worker program. In 2024, the company was fined $365,750 and temporarily banned from the program, though a federal court partially overturned the penalty.
Employment and Social Development Canada also fined LeBreton $90,000 in March of this year for failing to maintain a workplace free of abuse. Advocates for migrant workers point out that while the government fines companies for mistreatment, there is no system in place to directly compensate the workers themselves. Lopez and Silva pursued legal action as a means to recover lost wages, ultimately receiving settlements of $6,000 and $5,000 respectively.
Though happy with the outcome, Silva expressed concern that LeBreton continues to hire foreign workers who may face similar exploitation.
