Nazrul Islam loved being a chef at Richtree Market. For the 25 years he worked with the company, he never once took his unionized job at the Eaton Centre for granted.

“It was my first job in Canada and it had good benefits,” said the 57-year-old man who came from Bangladesh. “I was king of the kitchen.”

It was hard enough for Islam when the restaurant closed and let him go in January. But he was even more rattled upon discovering Richtree is reopening at the Eaton Centre on Sept. 9, metres away from its previous spot, without him or any of the other 49 workers who were laid off.

Unite Here Local 75, the union representing the employees, says this is a blatant violation of labour law.

“They are opening at the same location, same concept, same company, same owner, but we don’t get our jobs back,” said Islam, who’s had no luck finding a new job. “I have five family members to feed. How can we survive? I cannot afford next month’s rent.”

Richtree says it is hiring a new team of non-unionized employees. The upscale grab-and-go eatery claims it laid off its old staff fair and square.

“In January, Richtree was no longer in operation and successfully completed the process of collective bargaining with Local 75,” said a company representative, who agreed to read a statement but not be named. “The severance packages were greater than the minimum and each associate accepted those packages. Each and every one of them.”

“The facts clearly demonstrate that any allegations of unfair layoff are unfounded, erroneous and irresponsible.”

Both employees and the union acknowledge severance packages were offered, but deny ever agreeing to them.

“Workers weren’t given much choice,” said Lis Pimentel, president of Local 75. “The company wasn’t even forthright with the fact that they were reopening. Otherwise, there would have been no discussion about severance packages.”

The union says Richtree failed to tell its employees it was planning on reopening months later at the Eaton Centre. Islam learned about the relaunch when he chanced upon an online ad for the restaurant’s new job positions.

It’s legal to shut down a business to avoid unionization, said labour lawyer Sunira Chaudhri but only if the closure is genuine and final.

“What’s illegal is superficially shutting down and severing ties (to the union), just to do business next door,” said Chaudhri. “Clearly that’s what Richtree seems to be doing, which likely wouldn’t be in line with the current labour law landscape.”

While Richtree has new management, its company name and parent company, Natural Markets, remain the same. Pimentel argues Richtree cannot simply dissolve its union by relocating to another spot in the mall.

“We have a collective bargaining agreement that says if any operation closes for a little while and renovates, the employees should be recalled once the facility reopens,” she said. “Their seniority rights are respected. They come back to work. The union is still there.”

The union and all 50 orphaned employees plan to file a complaint with the Ontario Labour Relations Board.

“You can’t just close, reopen and say, ‘Now we’re non-union,’ ” said David Sanders, Local 75’s organizing director. “Otherwise any employer that has a union could close for renovations and reopen a few months later without one.

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“If that were allowed, no workers would ever have any protection, although we’d have a lot of renovated businesses, I’d bet.”

Islam plans to demonstrate with his former workmates in front of Richtree when the restaurant reopens this month. But he’s not interested in fighting. He simply wants to return to work so he can provide for his family.

“I feel like crying,” he said. “My son does not ask me to go to McDonald’s anymore because he is afraid we have no money. I just want my job back. That is my dream.”

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