Being paid for a missed shift doesn't necessarily erase the impact of being excluded from the work itself. That question arose in a complaint by a film industry makeup artist who said that production supervisors repeatedly preferred less qualified, nonracialized workers and that her union failed to confront the possible discrimination.
Priya Singh was a member of IATSE Local 891. She described several occasions when nonunion permit holders received work ahead of her despite the collective agreement's preference for union members. She said the difference was related to race and colour. The union argued that the allegations had no reasonable prospect of success, emphasizing, among other points, that she received pay adjustments for certain incidents. It sought to dismiss her complaint before a hearing.
In Singh v. IATSE Local 891, 2026 BCHRT 191, the Human Rights Tribunal refused the application. A loss of actual work opportunities could be an adverse employment impact even without a corresponding financial loss. There was also a live issue about the union's own response. The evidence suggested that the union concentrated on whether Singh was paid correctly, rather than whether a pattern of workplace exclusion had a discriminatory basis.
The tribunal considered that the union might have participated in a discriminatory practice through its tacit acceptance, or treated its member differently when responding to complaints about race. Those issues required a full hearing. The ruling did not find that the union or any production employer had actually discriminated, and Singh will still have to prove her claim on the merits.
The decision offers a useful reminder that a complaint doesn't always end with wage reconciliation. A discriminatory denial of an opportunity can affect experience, standing and access to work. Employers and unions should distinguish correcting the financial consequences of a disputed event from examining why it happened in the first place.
Source: BC Human Rights Tribunal, Singh v. IATSE Local 891, 2026 BCHRT 191, https://www.bchrt.bc.ca/law-library/decisions/recent/2026-bchrt-191/