National Union joins call for improvements to Employment Insurance

As the number of unemployed grows the National Union is demanding the federal government move quickly to fix the Employment Insurance program.

Ottawa (6 Feb. 2009) - With Statistics Canada's release of job loss figures for the month of January, the National Union of Public and General Employees is hoping that the magnitude of the economic crisis is becoming clearer to the Harper government. The National Union is joining in calls for improvements to the Employment Insurance (EI) system to help these workers cope.

In January at least 129,000 jobs were lost - bringing the total number to more than 213,000 since October 2008.

"These numbers further support what we have been saying all along - this crisis is real and much, much deeper than what the federal government is willing to admit" said national president James Clancy.

"This is quickly surpassing the projections of most economists and is far worse than what was experienced during the downturns of the 80 and 90's. And yet changes to EI will mean that many people are going to be forced into poverty."

This is a point emphasized by the president of the Canadian Labour Congress, Ken Georgetti, "many laid-off workers and their families will be left out in the cold because governments have changed the rules for EI, making it harder to qualify and chopping the benefits for those who do."

"The effects of the government's economic stimulus package won't kick in for months but workers who are innocent victims of this recession need help right now," said Georgetti. "People have paid their premiums believing that they would receive their insurance when they find themselves unemployed. Rainy day funds are supposed to be there for rainy days."

Manufacturing dramatically affected

The Statistics Canada report points out that "the drop in employment was most pronounced in manufacturing, where the net loss totalled 101,000. There were declines in a number of other industries as well."

"Canada's three largest provinces accounted for the entire employment decrease in January. While just over half of employment losses were in Ontario (-71,000), there were also large declines in both British Columbia (-35,000) and Quebec (-26,000). Employment was little changed in all other provinces."

The report indicates that there were some gains in health care and social assistance but overall the public sector also saw a decline.

NUPGE

The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE