'They couldn't pay their bills, they were crying': Former Scrubbi head office employee speaks out on workers not receiving pay
A former Scrubbi head office employee says she often spoke to cleaning contractors when they inquired about their missing pay.
"Daily, we were getting about five, six different contractors calling, wanting to get payment," said Sonia Cheeba, a former operations co-ordinator who worked for Scrubbi for nearly a year and a half.
Cheeba admits to taking a lot of calls knowing some contractors would likely never get paid.
"They said that, just tell them that, 'Oh, our payment system, we're trying to figure it out. We'll get you paid out on Friday, next cheque will be out to you,'" said Cheeba. "You just tell them that we know that we have to pay them and we're going to prepare a cheque for them."
She says the tough phone conversations were the main reason she left the Surrey-based, Canada-wide company.
"They couldn't pay their bills, they were crying, some of them got their cars repo'd," she said.
Since CTV News first covered the story on Tuesday, more and more contractors have come forward claiming their pay was delayed or never arrived at all.
"I was owed $619.59 and I was never paid from July 17," said Victoria Teather, a former Scrubbi contracted worker.
Teather shared emails with CTV News showing conversations with Scrubbi staff dating back to July and August 2022. In the emails, Scrubbi acknowledges the missing funds.
"Resolving this error is a top priority for us, and we hope to have this resolved as soon as possible," reads one email dated Aug. 3, 2022.
The company then tried requesting Teather's services for more cleaning jobs before settling the payment issue. Teather declined and resigned from the company.
"We have processed your resignation and working to resolve your pay delay," reads another email from Scrubbi staff dated Aug. 17, 2022.
On Tuesday, Scrubbi sent CTV News the following statement:
"Scrubbi recently transitioned to using a third-party vendor to process payment to its contractors and vendors. During the transition period, some payments did not process properly, which affected a small minority of contractors and vendors. To resolve any outstanding payment issues, Scrubbi encourages the contractors and vendors to reach out directly to Scrubbi."
Scrubbi declined an on-camera interview when CTV News arrived at the company's head office.
So far, three contract workers who appeared on CTV News have since been paid in full by Scrubbi.
With the workers being classified as independent contractors, a B.C. employment lawyer says they have less protection than typical employees and face an uphill battle if they want to take the matter to court.
"It's going to be cost-prohibitive if you're talking about trying to collect $800 and having to pay a lawyer to do that," said Jay Spiro, employment lawyer with Spraggs Law.
"It can either be too complicated to bring forward, too costly, or too time consuming."
Spiro says contractors could go the commercial arbitration route, which can also be costly.
Additionally, he says contractors could also challenge the 'independent contractor' designation with the BC Employment Standards Branch. If the branch were to determine they were employees instead of contractors, then their path to enforcing the payment of wages could be much more cost-effective.
Since CTV News' coverage of Scrubbi began Tuesday, more than 10 contractors from B.C. to Ottawa and two former head office employees have come forward with their stories regarding payment issues at the company.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
'Sophisticated' cyberattacks detected on B.C. government networks, premier says
There has been a "sophisticated" cybersecurity breach detected on B.C. government networks, Premier David Eby confirmed Wednesday evening.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs to start for Canucks in Game 1 vs. Oilers
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs will start in net for the Canucks as Vancouver kicks off a second-round series against the Edmonton Oilers Wednesday night.
Nijjar murder suspect says he had Canadian study permit in immigration firm's video
One of the Indian nationals accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar says in a social media video that he received a Canadian study permit with the help of an Indian immigration consultancy.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.