VANCOUVER - Customers at a Denny's restaurant in downtown Vancouver found an unusual sight over breakfast and coffee: Filipino workers upholding their rights.
Labor groups showed their support for a $10-million class action lawsuit filed by Filipino temporary workers against the popular food chain.
They claim there was an alleged breach in the workers' contracts due to shorter work hours and unpaid airfare from the Philippines, among others.
"We're raising awareness not just for temporary workers but for the Canadian public. They don't know this is happening," Jane Ordinario of the progressive group Migrante BC said.
Representative plaintiff Herminia Dominguez also faced the media to talk about her struggle to speak up.
Dominguez said the company offered to pay for overtime and transportation costs following the filing of the case, but she declined. She has since stopped working for Denny's.
"Tuloy ito. Kasi karapatan ng mga workers ang pinaglalaban hindi madali but many Pinoys continue to work for the food chain,” Dominguez said.
A certification hearing has been scheduled by the BC Supreme Court this August to determine whether or not the class suit should proceed.
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