Brampton international student alleges restaurant stole $18K worth of her wages
CBC
An international student says her employers at a Brampton restaurant stole just over $18,000 worth of her wages during a six-month span, leaving her broke and severely depressed.
Satinder Kaur Grewal, a 22-year-old graduate of the Montreal College of Information Technology, has now filed a complaint with Ontario's labour ministry against her former employer, Chat Hut — a takeout South Asian restaurant with at least two locations in Peel Region.
Grewal said she left the job last December without being paid and without much hope for a better future. At times this year, she said she found herself struggling with depression to the point that she considered suicide.
"When they said that 'I will not give you the money,' I thought what, I like, wasted my seven months over there," Grewal told CBC News.
"It's not good, right?"
Grewal alleges in her ministry complaint that she worked long hours and through holidays for less than minimum wage and was never properly added to the company's payroll during her time there.
Chat Hut's management declined to comment when reached by CBC News.
Ontario's Ministry of Labour confirmed it is investigating Grewal's allegations.
As a result of her experience, Grewal said her path to becoming a permanent resident in Canada has become more difficult.
She's now working with the Naujawan Support Network — a grassroots organization that aims to help international students and other young workers dealing with mistreatment and exploitation — to raise awareness about her situation.
Grewal says she worked as a server, cook, cleaner and cashier at Chat Hut from approximately June 20 until Dec. 25 of 2020. She wound up working there after randomly visiting the restaurant to use its restroom while searching for work.
Grewal said she'd just been laid off from her job at McDonalds and was struggling to find a replacement.
"I tried a lot of places in the warehouses, restaurants, but no one gave me the job," Grewal said.
So when Chat Hut's owners told her they had an opening, she thought she was in luck.
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