Foreign seasonal agricultural workers in Ontario have filed a class action lawsuit against the federal government, denouncing the requirement for them to contribute to the unemployment compensation system without being able to receive unemployment benefits when they return to their home countries.

The plaintiffs condemned the contractual obligation that binds them to a single employer.

The class action is valued at 500 million dollars. However, it must be approved by the courts to proceed.

''This problem has been ongoing for some time,'' said lawyer Judy Brown from the ''Goldblatt'' law firm, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of Kevin Palmer and Andrille Peters, two seasonal migrant workers from the Caribbean region who worked in companies in the Leamington area in southwestern Ontario. ''They seek to file a case not only for themselves but on behalf of tens of thousands of other workers in a similar situation,'' Brown added about Palmer and Peters.

For its part, the Ministry of Labour and Social Development in the federal government declined to comment on the file as it is before the courts.

But the ministry confirmed in an email statement that temporary foreign workers enjoy, while in Canada, the ''same rights and protections'' as Canadian citizens.

Lawyer Brown objects to this statement, saying that temporary foreign workers do not have the right to change their employer as per the federal program that allows them to come to Canada to work temporarily.

Brown adds that when the harvest season ends, seasonal foreign workers must return to their countries where they will not be able to benefit from the Canadian unemployment compensation system after having contributed to it while working in Canada.

Chris Ramsarup, from the ''Justice for Migrant Workers'' group, welcomed the filing of the class action. According to him, the unemployment compensation system should be amended so that the foreign seasonal worker can receive unemployment benefits ''like the Canadian worker.''

It is noted that, generally speaking, Canadian workers are not eligible for unemployment benefits when they leave Canada.