P.E.I. apple worker says she didn't quit, wants record corrected

A young woman wants her record of employment changed after she says she was laid off by an apple grower in Alliston, P.E.I.

The record of employment issued by the company says she quit for health reasons.

Jessica Pirch, 21, started working at Canadian Nectar Products in October 2017 as part of the Harvest and Prosper pilot project.  

It's a provincial program that helps newcomers and those on social assistance or disability support find short-term work in the agriculture industry without affecting any benefits they might receive.

Pirch says she enjoyed the work at the apple orchards.

"Being outside and working with people that you want to work for, they are nice," Pirch said.

"I want to still be working there."

"She was very excited to get the opportunity, she loved it right off the bat," said Olivia Maclean, Jessica's mother.

"Rod and Laurie (the farm managers) are amazing people, the ones who are running it, treated her with the utmost respect. Made her feel really proud of herself, always told her she was doing a great job."

• 'A huge success': Pilot project helps address worker shortage on P.E.I. farms
• 'I really love it': Program finds workers to meet harvest demands

First job

Pirch found the position at Canadian Nectar Products with help from Inclusions East in Montague, a group that works with people with intellectual challenges.

It was her first real job.

Pirch continued at the apple operation after the program ended in December, until June 2018. She says at that point she and several other workers were told to stay home and the company would call them back. 

"I called back four times and nothing yet."

A few weeks later, Pirch received her record of employment from the company that indicated she had quit for health reasons.

"I was really mad over it," Pirch said.  

"We didn't quit for health reasons. We got laid off."

Pirch and her mother called the company multiple times to ask for the document to be changed.

"I was angry, very angry, she loved that job and she had high hopes that she would get called back and it didn't happen," said Maclean.

"Then to see them put quit for health reasons, I mean, it's disgusting and I really hurt for her because she took great pride in that job. She had no intentions of quitting."

Still looking

The CBC has spoken to two other Islanders who were working at Canadian Nectar Products. They also received records of employment that said they had quit, which both deny. They have gone on to find other jobs.

Canadian Nectar Products is still advertising for farm workers on the Canadian Job Bank website that lists 30 vacancies available to apply for until Aug. 24, 2018.

Olivia Maclean also contacted the P.E.I. Labour Board about her daughter's situation.

A spokesperson for the P.E.I. department of Workforce and Advanced Learning writes: 

"We did hear about this situation. We always offer what we can to assist in any situation involving workers and employers. However, this falls under federal jurisdiction through Service Canada, which we would suggest following up with that department."

The family contacted Service Canada who said they had to deal with the company directly.

In an emailed statement to CBC, Service Canada says they are not "looking into anything with this employer."

"There is no need to take action as the internal system catches discrepancies between employer and claimant reasons for separation automatically. The automated process pulls the claim out of automation and trips down to a manual adjudication," the statement said.

The statement also says that a record of employment provides information on an individual's employment history which is used to determine their eligibility for employment insurance.

Employers are required to provide a record whenever there is "an interruption of earnings."

If the employee submits an application for employment insurance, and the reason for leaving their job differs between the employer and employee:

•  A manual adjudication work item is created.
•  A Service Canada agent will review the information provided by both parties and may contact the employee or employer to determine what the reason for separation is in accordance with the EI Act.
• The Service Canada agent's review will render a decision.
• The Service Canada agent will manually update the ROE.

CBC reached Canadian Nectar Products and asked for a comment. The company's director of operations said on Tuesday afternoon that a reply would be coming but as of Wednesday afternoon it had not responded.

Pirch continues to look for work. 

"You feel bad, feel like you're not worth nothing and you're trying to work all winter in the cold, I had to go home a couple of times it was that cold," Pirch said.

"I want to still be working there but we can't."

Maclean wishes her daughter was still working as well. 

'They deserve an apology'

"Very frustrating as her mom and very sad because she is supposed to be obtaining some work-related skills," Maclean said. 

"It's not as easy for her as for other people. It was a negative experience for her and it should have been a good one."

Maclean says neither she nor her daughter are going to give up. 

"I think they all deserve an apology for one thing and the record of employment should be changed," Maclean said. 

"If they didn't quit, don't put quit."

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