2015 Election Employment Insurance:
What’s Needed? Who Promised What?

See what the parties say – download PDF

Good Jobs for All – E.I. Action in Rexdale

Concerning Federal Changes to Employment Insurance

To the Prime Minister of Canada:

Our unemployment insurance program has served this country well since 1940. When the Great Depression gave rise to mass unemployment and large public demonstrations, workers demanded a program of unemployment insurance to address the obvious, painful need. They were supported by mayors, business leaders and others who understood how important an income replacement program was for families trying to weather bad times and for communities trying to maintain economic stability. The program has continued this vital role in the decades since and especially during periods of economic crisis.

It is deeply disturbing to watch your government now make such destructive, harmful changes to our EI program. There is no excuse for such unilateral action. The people directly concerned have not given their agreement or even been consulted. Since 1990 workers and employers have entirely funded the UI/EI program without any government contributions. What’s more, between 1994 and 2009, the funds of the EI program were used for other purposes than the protection of workers; those funds should be restored.

We are united in calling on your government to Scrap the EI Changes!

We believe that:

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes our fundamental human right to economic supports in case of unemployment as well as the freedom to choose our own employment;
• Unemployment is an economic and social phenomenon. It requires a collective response;
• Unemployed workers have a right to a fair and worker-friendly appeal system when contesting EI Commission decisions;
• EI requires improvements that improve access, duration and benefit levels. Less than 40% of unemployed people are now collecting EI benefits.

We say NO to:

• the impoverishment of workers and degradation of working conditions;
• changes which are not necessary or desirable, and for which no impact studies have been provided;
• new rules that reinforce the myth that Canadians do not wish to work and abuse the system when they are unemployed. In fact, fewer than a third collect the total benefits to which they are entitled;
• the attack on communities throughout Canada especially rural communities and those which rely on seasonal industries;
• the erosion of coverage for people without full-time, full-year employment. Temporary, part-time and migrant jobs mean insecure, erratic employment, especially for aboriginal workers and workers of colour, women and youth.
• an obligation to accept work regardless of training, experience or willingness;
• the focus on individual rather than collective responses to unemployment;
• intimidation, surveillance and intrusion into our private lives;
• a new Social Security Tribunal which will gravely restrain access to justice;
• the attempt to dismantle our EI social insurance program by stealth.

We seek Employment Insurance reforms that benefit workers and their
communities. We therefore urge the PARLIAMENT of Canada to:

1. Rescind all 2012 and 2013 Budget measures related to EI.
2. Improve EI benefits:
   • Improve access by reducing qualifying hours in all regions to the lesser of 360 hours or 13 weeks.
   • Increase duration to at least 50 weeks in all regions. Provide a Special Extension when unemployment exceeds 6.5%, paid from federal general revenues.
   • Increase benefits to at least 60% of earnings using workers’ 12 best weeks. Raise the maximum benefit. And eliminate severance pay allocations and the 2 week waiting period.
   • Provide EI income benefits so long as workers are in approved training.
   • Expand supports for work-sharing arrangements under EI to reduce layoffs, and build links between work-sharing and training.
3. Provide Temporary Foreign Workers with meaningful EI entitlements.

Download PDF in English | French | Endorsements

Elected Provincial Leaders Need to Get on Board!

Community and labour groups warned that Ottawa’s new E.I. CHANGES are dangerous and should be SCRAPPED. The Premiers of Quebec and the 4 Atlantic provinces have called for a moratorium on the changes and launched a review of the impact on their province. Where’s Ontario?

Which provinces have the most people in new EI categories that will be hard hit by rules requiring them to look for jobs paying 20-30% less, outside their occupation and commuting an hour – after just 6 weeks of layoff? Not the Atlantic provinces, but Quebec and Ontario.

According to the federal EI Monitoring Report, 70% of Ontario EI claimants fall into the new categories, over ¼ million workers. No one’s immune to this cheap labour agenda, whether they work in manufacturing, construction or public and private services like educational staff and hotels – jobs you’ll find in every town.

Did you know there are other EI changes like a total re-write of the appeal system, making it more difficult to get justice if you’re unfairly denied EI? To learn more about these changes, go to www.goodjobsforall.ca where you can also print a petition calling on Parliament for better EI access and real improvements.

Ask Ontario By-election Candidates a Question

Do you agree that Premier Wynne should join the premiers of the 4 Atlantic provinces and Quebec in calling for a moratorium on the new EI changes? And launch public hearings to investigate their impact on Ontario?

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Community and labour groups warned that Ottawa’s new E.I. CHANGES are dangerous and should be SCRAPPED. The Premiers of Quebec and the 4 Atlantic provinces have called for a moratorium on the changes and launched a review of the impact on their province. Where’s Ontario?

• Which provinces have the most people in new EI categories that will be hard hit by rules requiring them to look for jobs paying 20-30% less, outside their occupation and commuting an hour – after just 6 weeks of layoff? Not the Atlantic provinces, but Quebec and Ontario.According to the federal EI Monitoring Report, 70% of Ontario EI claimants fall into the new categories, over ¼ million workers. No one’s immune to this cheap labour agenda, whether they work in manufacturing, construction or public and private services like educational staff and hotels – jobs you’ll find in every town.
• Did you know there are other EI changes like a total re-write of the appeal system, making it more difficult to get justice if you’re unfairly denied EI? To learn more about these changes, go to www.goodjobsforall.ca where you can also print a petition calling on Parliament for better EI access and real improvements.

Urge Premier Wynne to discuss this issue with the Council of the Federation. Ask her to support the call for a moratorium and to set up provincial public hearings. Ask your city council to do the same and write to the Premier and Prime Minister Stephen Harper. It’s up to us!

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Make Real EI Improvements!

TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS:

WHEREAS the government is driving a cheap labour agenda with new lower wage standards for Canada’s unemployed, undermining the wages of all workers and failing to put quality jobs at the heart of the country’s labour market strategies;

WHEREAS recent EI changes require 75% of claimants to accept jobs outside their usual occupation and paying 20 to 30% less after only 6 weeks of job search; give the Minister unilateral powers to dictate EI regulations; remove basic principles of fairness in the appeal process and other changes detrimental to workers and their communities;

WHEREAS EI has been weakened to the point where fewer than half of the unemployed receive EI at any given time because fewer workers qualify and benefit weeks are reduced. Yet a healthy EI system is the most powerful of all economic stabilizers, reducing the shock of job and GDP losses during downturns.

WHEREAS Ottawa stopped contributing to EI in 1990 but siphoned off $55 Billion of a $57 Billion surplus in premiums accumulated by 2009 instead of improving benefits;

WE URGENTLY PETITION PARLIAMENT to introduce these changes to Employment Insurance. We fund EI and we expect it to be there when we need it.

1.  Rescind all 2012 and 2013 Budget measures related to Employment Insurance.

2.  Provide Temporary Foreign Workers with meaningful EI entitlements.

3.  Improve EI benefits:

• Increase access by reducing qualifying hours to 360 hours in all regions of Canada.
• Increase duration to at least 50 weeks in all regions and provide a Special 52 week Extension when national unemployment exceeds 6.5%, paid from federal general revenues. Provide EI income benefits so long as workers are in approved training.
• Increase EI to at least 60% of earnings using workers’ 12 best weeks. Raise the maximum benefit. Eliminate severance pay allocations and 2 week waiting period.

Download PDF

Prezi presentation: “EI Changes”
New EI rules will create three classes of unemployed…

Here’s a new one-page PDF poster: “Changes to Employment Insurance”

And a new 2-page report from the CLC: “The Cost of Falling EI Coverage”

Click for the the Good Jobs For All “Fix Employment Insurance” resources:
‘Scrap the EI Changes’ petition
‘Take Action on EI’ flyer
EI Presentation (Prezi)

BUILDING A MOVEMENT AGAINST EI CUTS

The Good Jobs for All Coalition launched its campaign against the EI cuts at a packed forum on June 20th. For everyone who came out to the event, it became obvious that people in greater Toronto need to start fighting to defend what is left of this vital social safety net. Only 1 in 5 unemployed Torontonians received Employment Insurance (EI) benefits at any given time last year and the recent changes by the Conservative government will only make matters worse.

The new EI rules require 75% of EI claimants to accept work at a 20-30% pay cut, in a job outside their current profession, after just six weeks of job search. “Those changes will further erode our confidence in the safety net long considered one of the keystones of Canadian democracy” explained Tam Goossen, co-chair of the Good Jobs for All coalition and moderator of the forum.

The evening began with a panel of speakers from Toronto, Quebec and New Brunswick, including Kenny Hoosein, Steelworkers Job Action Centre, Armine Yalnizyan, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Patrick Rondeau, Conseiller regional Federation des travailleurs et des travailleuses and Daniel Legere, New Brunswick Scrap the Changes Resource Committee. Kenny spoke passionately of the experience of unemployed workers, while Armine provided a broad analysis and historical perspective of EI. Patrick and Daniel shared their experiences in organizing huge rallies in their communities, and called on Torontonians to build mass support to restore EI for all jobless workers.

Following the panel the audience of community and union members spoke of their experiences with EI and the need to Stop the Changes and Fix EI, so all unemployed workers have access to an insurance that they pay into – an insurance to take them through the challenging times between jobs.
Stay tuned on how you can become a part of this important campaign to build a movement against the EI cuts. For more information please take a look at “The Cost of Falling EI Coverage” and “Fix Employment Insurance.”

PDF version of Teachin-report