Former employees of Winnipeg restaurant say business hasn't paid them thousands of dollars in wages
Manitoba Employment Standards says it has 8 active investigations against My Indigo restaurant
Former employees of a Winnipeg restaurant have filed complaints against its owner with the Manitoba Employment Standards for thousands of dollars in wages that they said have not been paid since last year.
"Five cheques are left … I gave so much time to them, and they just give us false promises that they will pay maybe in the next couple of months," said Manpreet Nijjar, a former employee of the My Indigo Indian Street Food restaurant.
Nijjar, who worked at the business since October 2022, said she quit in August last year, months after the restaurant stopped paying a part of her wage.
She said My Indigo would issue two cheques per month, but starting in May, only one was paid — half their monthly earnings.
"It's really hard for us because we depend on cheque-to-cheque and we do our expenses from there," she told CBC News on Friday outside the business where she and other former employees gathered to peacefully rally.
WATCH | Winnipeg restaurant employees file complaints over unpaid wages:
Nijjar said the business owes her roughly $10,000, and at least 10 other former employees are also waiting on wages from last year, some totalling as much as $15,000.
The business told former employees "a partnership dispute" is the reason behind the unpaid wages, Nijjar said. CBC News reached out to My Indigo Indian Street Food, but it didn't hear back in time for publication.
Complaints filed with Manitoba Employment Standards
Jashanpreet Singh, a member of the International Student & Skilled Workers Union Manitoba said they received multiple complaints from former employees at the restaurant and later helped set up a meeting with the owner on Dec. 25.
"Both the parties … they discussed their points, and after that, the owner agreed to pay the pending wages in two instalments," he said. "But after that, there was no follow-up from their side."
A spokesperson for the province told CBC Manitoba Employment Standards has eight active investigations against My Indigo.
The province said in a statement staff will review claims from the last six months of employment, providing flexibility to the employers to comply with deadlines for compensation. If a voluntary resolution is not achieved, the spokesperson said orders can be issued for formal wage collection.
But Singh said that could take more than a year, and in the meantime, the former employees need the money now.
"This situation can be resolved if the owner takes initiative, as they already promised in the last meeting," he said. "But they're stepping back from their own words."
With files from Zubina Ahmed