A 1,000 strong march and rally at the main Unemployment Insurance office in Vancouver protesting the infamous "16-week rule" that left most farmworkers ineligible for unemployment benefits. Pacific Tribune Photo
The problem for farmworkers is that "growers often fail to keep proper employment records even though the UI Act obliges them to do so. When their books are audited by Revenue Canada and the UI Commission, they are found to be a mess. Rather than penalize the growers, the Commission demands that workers prove their earnings. If they can't offer satisfactory proof, the Commission will demand that they pay back all benefits. But this injustice is beginning to change. After two demonstrations by farmworkers in 1986, a number of appeals won by the CFU and two important recent court decisions, the Commission was forced to modify its practises in 1987. Now, when there is no evidence to the contrary, unemployment insurance agents must recognize (government) Records of Employment as sufficient proof of earnings." - CFU Legal Services worker Mike Fleming, 1988