Massive changes are coming to the employment insurance system that will force people to take jobs outside their fields at lower salaries.
Seasonal workers will now need to take practically any job they can get in the off-season under the new rules revealed by the Conservative government Thursday.
Seasonal workers such as fishermen who rely on EI for certain months of the year will now have just six weeks to look for a similar job that pays about the same.
After six weeks, they must take any work that’s available within an hour’s commute as long as it pays at least 70 per cent of their previous salary.
Factors like health, transportation ability and local job markets will all be taken into consideration. But if a suitable job is available and a claimant refuses to take it, they will be cut off from EI payments.
The government is cracking down on those who only pretend to search for work while collecting EI. The new rules will require claimants to document that they are looking for work, such as showing they have sent out resumes, to keep receiving payments.
Currently, EI claimants just have to report in regularly to say they are looking for work.
The changes are planned for early 2013. At that time, employers will only be able to hire temporary foreign workers if there are no Canadians available to do the job.
Human Resources and Skills Development Minister Diane Finley said the changes are necessary because hundreds of thousands of Canadians remain unemployed despite a skilled labour shortage that is “hindering our ability to prosper as a country.”
According to Statistics Canada, 549,000 people received regular EI benefits in March. Human Resources staff say they expect less than one per cent of these people would be kicked off EI under the new system.
Asked whether the changes would mean fishermen have to work at McDonald’s for half the year, Finley said they would be expected to look for work like everyone else.
“This is going to impact everyone because what we want to do is make sure that the McDonald’s of the world aren’t having to bring in temporary foreign workers to do jobs that Canadians who are on EI have the skills to do,” she said.
“It’s about taking advantage of the labour and skills that we have in this country ... and it also means that money is here in Canada and not going to outside workers unless absolutely necessary.”
But other politicians saw the changes as dismantling the EI system. Cape Breton Regional Municipality Mayor John Morgan said the new system will disproportionately hurt Atlantic Canada, which has a higher ratio of seasonal workers.
“You have the government weakening the fiscal support network for Atlantic Canada but at the same time they continue unapologetically subsidizing the agricultural industry in Western Canada,” said Morgan.
Cape Breton-Canso Liberal MP Rodger Cuzner said the new system treats seasonal workers as repeat offenders and will make it harder for employers to hire people on a temporary basis.
“What's most frustrating is they say this is about an unprecedented crisis with a lack of skilled workers in this country, but there is zero component in this for retraining workers for today’s jobs or training students for the jobs of tomorrow,” said Cuzner.
The rules do not force people to leave their communities for work, as some had feared. Claimants will have to take jobs up to an hour away, though that limit could be higher in areas where commutes are longer.
The plan strives to make it easier for EI claimants to find work. The government is setting up a new system that will send EI claimants updated job listings twice per day, rather than the current system of three alerts every two weeks.
The government is investing $21 million over the next two years to beef up the EI system.
The EI overhaul is included as part of the 430-page omnibus budget bill. It will also give the government the power to change the regulations in the future without needing to introduce legislation.
Employment insurance pays out up to 55 per cent of a claimant’s previous salary, up to a cap of $26,000 per year.
Premier Darrell Dexter said his government needs more information about the planned rule changes to properly gauge the potential impact to Nova Scotia’s workers, particularly seasonal employees.
“It’s unclear what it will mean,” he told reporters in Halifax on Thursday. “It’s unclear because, of course, (the federal government has) never consulted with us about it.”
In Nova Scotia, Dexter said, “we have above the national average when it comes to seasonal workers,” and that part of the labour force could be “penalized” by Ottawa’s stricter measures.
He said “in many respects, this will hit hardest in rural communities.”
In a statement, Dexter said: “These changes should have been done as part of a plan to strengthen the Canadian economy in these uncertain times, and a plan to enable more people to qualify for the jobs that are becoming available. Instead, the provinces and territories are left scrambling to figure out what all of this will mean for their people and their communities."
EI BREAKDOWN
When someone applies for Employment Insurance they will be filed into one of three categories. The more you have worked in recent years, the more time you will have before you are forced to leave your field or take a steep pay cut
Frequent Claimants (17 per cent of all claims):This category includes anyone who has filed three or more EI claims in the past five years. Seasonal workers would fall into this category. Right away they will have to take any work that is a “similar occupation” of their old job and pays at least 80 per cent of their previous earnings. After six weeks on EI, the claimant will have to take any job they are able to do at 70 per cent of their previous pay.
Occasional Claimants (58 per cent of all claims):This category includes people who don't go on EI enough to be considered frequent claimants, but also haven't worked steadily enough to be long-tenured workers. For the first six weeks of receiving EI they will only have to take a job in their same occupation that pays at least 90 per cent of their previous earnings. After six weeks they will have to take a job in any similar occupation that pays 80 per cent of previous workings. After 18 weeks they will have to take any work at 70 per cent of previous earnings.
Long-tenured Workers (25 per cent of claimants):To reach this category with the most security, one must work for seven of the past 10 years, while paying at least 30 per cent of maximum EI premiums, and have received no more than 35 weeks of EI over the past five years. Long-tenured workers will have 18 weeks to find a job in their existing occupation that pays at least 90 per cent of previous earnings. After 18 weeks they must move to a similar occupation that pays 80 per cent of previous earnings.
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