{"id":8679,"date":"2025-05-09T16:53:05","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T19:53:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/?p=8679"},"modified":"2025-05-11T09:15:19","modified_gmt":"2025-05-11T12:15:19","slug":"laid-off-liverpool-call-centre-employees-due-200000-in-back-pay-labour-officials-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/2025\/05\/09\/laid-off-liverpool-call-centre-employees-due-200000-in-back-pay-labour-officials-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Laid-off Liverpool call centre employees due $200,000 in back pay, Labour officials say"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_5068\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5068\" class=\"size-large wp-image-5068\" src=\"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Call-centre-pic-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Office cubicles\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Call-centre-pic-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Call-centre-pic-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Call-centre-pic-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Call-centre-pic-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Call-centre-pic.jpg 2016w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-5068\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Inside Global Empire Corporation&#8217;s call centre in Liverpool. (File photo by Ed Halverson)<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A company that operates a call centre in Liverpool has been ordered to pay almost $200,000 to 69 former employees it laid off last March.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In a May 1 order by Nova Scotia\u2019s Labour Standards Division, Global Empire Corporation must pay the laid-off workers a total of $193,115.04.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">That\u2019s because the company failed to give proper notice, as outlined under Nova Scotia\u2019s Labour Standards Code.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In a mass layoff of 10 to 99 employees, a company must give at least eight weeks\u2019 notice, or pay instead of notice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The decision amounts to pay of five weeks and one day for most laid-off workers. Two are entitled to five weeks and two days\u2019 pay.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/66179-DECISION-Order-To-Pay_combined.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read the Labour Standards decision here<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">According to the reasons accompanying the order, Global Empire terminated 74 people on March 15, 2024, three weeks after it issued layoff notices on Feb. 26, and before the original termination date of April 19.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Debra Lalonde-MacDonald, who moved to the area a few years ago from Ontario, was one of those people who lost her job. She filed a complaint with the Nova Scotia Labour Standards Division shortly after the layoff. She provided QCCR with a copy of the decision.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lalonde-MacDonald told QCCR this week that management assured employees that their jobs were secure, despite the February layoff notice.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cThere was just an abundance of reassurance from our management that it was precautionary and that our jobs were very secure,&#8221; she said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">&#8220;For many, it was tragic, especially (those) who had moved from out of province to come here and work. For my personal situation, after three years of a local job search with valid skills and exhausting so many employers in the community, it was challenging. &#8230; <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Very disappointing news at that point in my life thinking of re-entering the job market that had closed its door repeatedly for three years.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">According to the decision by Labour Standards officer Kyle Barrie, the Liverpool call centre lost a contract with Lifeline Systems Company on March 1, 2024, which led to the job cuts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lifeline, which provides medical alert services, claimed that Global Empire wasn\u2019t fulfilling its obligations under the contract it signed in November 2021.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lifeline said the call centre failed in \u201cproviding guaranteed minimum number of <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">agents per month, the minimum number of service hours, and meeting average speed of answer obligations.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">But according to Global Empire&#8217;s February layoff notice that was quoted in the Labour Standards ruling, it needed 130 employees to cover the Lifeline work and that it was never able to hire that many people.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Unfortunately after many promises and failed attempts to provide our client the needed 130 employees, they no longer have faith in our hiring abilities and as such will be terminating their contract with us. We are a service provider for them, and we have not been able to provide them with the service.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It also blamed minimum wage increases, a lack of affordable housing in Liverpool, and the provincial government for not following through on promised payroll rebates.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the ruling, Labour Standards said Global Empire didn\u2019t do enough to avoid the layoff.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201dWhile (Global Empire) did take some steps to meet its obligations, such as posting ads online, going door to door, and hiring foreign workers already situated in Canada, I find it has not demonstrated on a balance of probabilities that it exercised sufficient due diligence to foresee and avoid the cause of the layoff,\u201d Barrie wrote in his decision.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201c(Global Empire) could have done more due diligence prior to entering into the service agreement of November 2021, to confirm whether it would be able to meet its staffing obligations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cThere was nothing sudden about the problems the (company) says prevented it from <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">reaching the required staffing levels from the beginning of the service agreement with Lifeline Systems in 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cIn reviewing the evidence, I find the reason for the layoff was within the (company\u2019s) control. Simply <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">put, the (company) entered into an agreement it could not fulfill. Its failure to fulfill its responsibilities <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">under the service agreement in 2024 cannot excuse its inability to fulfil its responsibilities from the end <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">of 2021, through the beginning of 2022, and forward. I find the employees\u2019 terminations were within the <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">(company&#8217;s) control.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">For her part, Lalonde-MacDonald says she\u2019s not celebrating yet. The company has 10 days to appeal the order to the province\u2019s labour board. If it does, that would further delay a payout to laid-off employees.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cI\u2019m hesitant to be elated about it,&#8221; she said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">&#8220;With the appeal process pending, only time will tell. Should they be able to collect that, it would be fantastic. That would be a relief for us all. It was hard news for us to receive for so many reasons. &#8230; I\u2019d be happy to see that we have policy makers&#8217; support to make sure that that money\u2019s collected.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lalonde-MacDonald said it\u2019s difficult to find a well-paying job in the area. And being properly compensated for the layoff would be a help.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cFourteen months later, &#8230; it\u2019s just good to know that there\u2019s protection but questionable on whether or not they\u2019re going to be able to collect it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cAll we can do is hope that that order to pay is strong enough, so that the 69 of us that have been deemed entitled to our five weeks of pay in lieu of notice that we actually receive it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">She said she\u2019s upset that municipal and provincial governments didn\u2019t provide more support to the former employees of Global Empire in Liverpool.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Region of Queens signed a long-term lease with the company in December 2021 to move into the municipally owned Business Development Centre building. At the time, it was the company\u2019s only Canadian location.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Before the layoffs, about 120 people worked at the call centre.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In early February 2024, the company wanted to renegotiate its lease with the region, saying it was using half the space it originally needed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The region signed a new lease with the company on Feb. 1. It was approved by council in a closed-door session on Feb. 13.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The lease has never been made public.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mayor Scott Christian said he\u2019s not familiar with the terms of the lease, since it was signed before he was elected.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">He said it\u2019s \u201cproblematic\u201d when employers in the community are found to have violated labour rules, but he said it doesn\u2019t mean the region should impose its own values on one of its tenants.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cI think it&#8217;s too bad that that operation hasn&#8217;t been successful and that there have been layoffs and that they never really were able to stand up the labour force to be able to make that a vibrant and successful operation. I think that that is regrettable.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration would not comment on the ruling or say whether the company has appealed or honoured the order to pay back wages.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Neither the company nor its lawyer responded to requests for comment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Email: <a href=\"mailto:rickconradqccr@gmail.com\">rickconradqccr@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Listen to the audio version of this story below<\/p>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-8679-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/globalempirelayoffsmay925.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/globalempirelayoffsmay925.mp3\">https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/globalempirelayoffsmay925.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A company that operates a call centre in Liverpool has been ordered to pay almost $200,000 to 69 former employees it laid off last March. In a May 1 order by Nova Scotia\u2019s Labour Standards Division, Global Empire Corporation must pay the laid-off workers a total of $193,115.04. That\u2019s because the company failed to give [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,5],"tags":[3082,670,3083,2683,3086,2021,669,2034,3085,3084,3087,3088,39,3081,49,24,226],"class_list":["post-8679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community-news","category-news-posts","tag-business-development-centre","tag-call-centre","tag-debra-lalonde-macdonald","tag-department-of-labour","tag-department-of-labour-skills-and-immigration","tag-employment","tag-global-empire-corporation","tag-labour-relations","tag-labour-standards","tag-labour-standards-code","tag-layoffs","tag-lifeline-systems-company","tag-liverpool","tag-liverpool-call-centre","tag-queens-county","tag-region-of-queens","tag-scott-christian"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8679"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8679\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8688,"href":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8679\/revisions\/8688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qccrfm.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}