Lobster processor settles with foreign workers

A New Brunswick lobster processor has settled a small claims case filed by two former temporary foreign workers. The case alleged LeBreton & Sons didn't provide the hours promised when the workers came from Mexico in 2023 to work at its plant on the Acadian Peninsula. The workers claimed about $7,000 each, along with $12,000 in damages. Court records show the company agreed to pay a total of $11,500. dollars. One worker says it was a small relief after years of struggle. LeBreton and Sons didn't comment. Court records show it continues to deny liability. The Migrant Workers Alliance for Change helped the workers with the case announced in 2024 outside the Moncton courthouse. Despite no finding of wrongdoing. They celebrated the settlement two years later. It's a victory for the workers and this is a clear message that the workers are sending to employers that they're not going to let any other employer abuse them without facing consequences. But both the workers and the alliance that helped them with the case say it highlights a problem. LeBreton & Sons has been fined more than $128,000 by the federal government over non-compliance with temporary worker standards. She says the company loses and the government wins, but the workers don't, saying the system fails in that aspect. A spokesperson for New Brunswick's Labor Department says it's looking at enhancing protections for temporary foreign workers, but offered no timeline.