Two former cleaning employees of the Algerian Consulate in Montreal are suing the government of Algeria and its Foreign Affairs Department for about $450,000 in damages and unpaid wages.
Marisa Amaya, 65, and Elida Rivera Lopez, 70, say their experience working at the consulate has left them “psychologically and emotionally broken.”
They are accusing Algerian Consul General Noureddine Meriem and his wife of abuse of power and of humiliating and harassing them on the job.
The women say in separate lawsuits, both of which were filed in August, that the consulate was a “toxic” work environment that led both of them to take sick leave in 2021.
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In a written statement, the consulate says it categorically denies all of the women’s allegations, calling them “unfounded and defamatory.”
The allegations have not been proven in court.
The women say the lawyer they hired to file the lawsuit dropped them as clients earlier this week after they went public with their allegations to Le Journal de Montréal newspaper. The women say they are looking for a new lawyer and continuing their lawsuits.
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