Province can’t help Ben Moss employees now, spokeswoman says

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This article was published 08/08/2016 (3659 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba minister responsible for labour is staying out of the situation involving layoffs at Ben Moss Jewellers that came with no warnings or severance.

Growth, Enterprise and Trade Minister Cliff Cullen’s department cannot intervene in any way before Dec. 30, a government staffer said Monday.

“This company is under the protection of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), a federal statute that prevents legal actions against a company or its directors. This includes any wages that may be owing to employees or other monies owing to other creditors. This protection will be in effect until Dec. 30, 2016,” she said.

“Once protection is lifted, Employment Standards can investigate. In some cases the company declares bankruptcy and employees are able to access the federal Wage Earner Protection Program for outstanding wages.”

The Manitoba Labour Board has received three complaints about the sudden layoffs so far. Some employees had been with the Winnipeg-based company for almost 40 years.

The company sought creditor protection in May to undertake a restructuring. Gordon Brothers Canada was hired to oversee the closure of 11 of their underperforming stores.

But Ben Moss announced July 29 that going-out-of-business sales would begin at all 54 of its locations across Canada, including five in Manitoba — four in Winnipeg and one in Brandon.

Last Tuesday, after the long weekend, at least 27 of 51 head office employees were notified their jobs had been terminated.

There has been no response to a request for an interview with Brent Trepel at Ben Moss. Trepel, whose family owned the business for several decades until it was sold to JSN Group three years ago, has remained involved in the management of the company, which has been Canadian-owned and operated since 1910.

The provincial government spokeswoman said Manitoba’s employment standards branch requires employers to give workers notice or pay in lieu of notice on a scale relative to the employees’ length of employment. A worker with at least 30 days but less than a year’s employment must receive one week’s notice. Workers with between one and three years tenure must receive two weeks. The length of notice increases to eight weeks for people employed more than 10 years. In cases of group termination of more than 50 employees, that may increase to up to 18 weeks.

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca