Daniel Huber says he doesn’t mind being the “loud-mouthed catalyst for change” in Alberta’s service industry. After less than two weeks of collecting anonymous complaints, the chef and restaurant consultant says he is sure there is a huge problem in the way service industry staff are treated by employers.
“I got loud on social media because I’m kind of sick of it,” Huber told Global News as he explained why he took to Twitter to get feedback on the matter earlier this month. “It’s a huge problem.”
Huber says he was shocked by the number of complaints he received — more than 600 — as well as the diversity of the concerns that stretch across industries, from the hospitality and food services sectors to aesthetic industries. Huber says he has heard allegations of people working overtime hours and not being paid for it, working without breaks and workers not being given days off.
“There’s no shortage of ways industry workers are getting screwed right now,” Huber said.
He says he’s also heard about cases of sexual harassment that have gone unreported. He says unless you want to involve police, the reporting system can be convoluted and complicated and that is unacceptable.
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Huber adds that often times staff don’t know what their rights are or are afraid they will lose their job if they speak out.
Some of the biggest complaints come from women forced to wear high heels as part of their uniforms as well as for serving staff who are forced to pay a percentage of their total sales back to the house from their tips. In Alberta, tips are not considered wages so there are no guidelines in place, according to the government.
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Huber has taken the concerns to Labour Minister Christina Gray in hopes the provincial NDP government will step in to not only more strictly enforce the labour rules that are out there, but also create new rules to protect workers.
“Just because you do a job that some people don’t view as being skilled, it’s still a job that should be afforded the same protections as everyone else,” Huber said.
“What I had the opportunity to do was review some of the testimonials,” Gray told Global News. “That was really important to me.”
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Although she didn’t mention any specific changes that could be coming, she said she feels “every worker deserves to have a workplace that is safe, fair and healthy.”
Huber says he will continue to collect information, anonymously or not, from service industry workers across Alberta. He has created a new advocacy group and Twitter account in order to do that.