What needs to be done?

Your union, working with the Canadian Labour Congress, has proposed these changes and is working hard to convince the federal government to move forward:

Benefits:

A basic 360 hours should be enough to qualify for EI, no matter where we live in Canada and no matter what type of benefits we need. This would replace the patchwork system of 420 to 910 hours that changes from place to place and month to month.Qualifying for EI should be flexible for those who have been in the labour force for a longer time. EI should look at more than the hours worked in the months before lay-off. It should count the years too.Workers over 45 years of age, the ones who have the hardest time getting a new job, should be guaranteed benefits for up to a year and a half.

Weekly benefits should be no lower than two-thirds (66.6%) of regular earnings, which would be defined as an average of the best twelve weeks of earnings.

Eliminate all clawbacks.

Training Insurance:

We think the time has come to extend the training benefits currently available to apprentices to everyone in the workforce, both employed and unemployed. Remaining employed and employable is becoming increasingly linked to a worker's ability to sharpen and expand their skills and knowledge.

Regular EI benefits should be available to cover hours of work lost while training and learning.