Canada: Ruby Dhalla accused of mistreating workers

Canada's Indian-origin Sikh woman lawmaker Ruby Dhalla, who is facing charges of mistreating two nannies, on Friday landed in more trouble after another maid alleged that she was forced to do "backbreaking" tasks at her home.

Lyle Alvarez, the third female worker, alleged that the 35-year-old former Miss India-Canada forced her to do long hours of scrubbing and cleaning floors while on knees, dish washing and shining dozens of pairs of shoes.

Alvarez said the MP had promised to help her stay in Canada as a live-in care giver if she passed a tryout as a house keeper at the family's Mississauga home.

"I had to polish their shoes...for Miss Ruby and her brother," Alvarez told The Toronto Star newspaper, adding that she had to work over 12-hour daily and was "paid under the table".

Describing her work as "backbreaking," she alleged that Dhallas treated her like a servant and was not allowed to eat with the family, and could only after they finished. She could go to bed only after the last family member had retired for the night.

Alvarez said that Dhalla's mother Tavinder insisted that all dishes be washed by hand every day and that the walls and hardwood floors be cleared daily.