Thank you very much. I'm glad to be here.
Yes, I'm an organizer with the Workers' Action Centre, but I'm also speaking today as a signatory to the submission by the interprovincial employment insurance working group. This submission is signed by over 80 labour and frontline advocacy organizations. It contains recommendations that are grounded in workers' lived experience, with recommendations that could transform access to EI for millions.
I'm sure you are all well aware of the fact that today, only about 40% of unemployed people are receiving EI income supports when they're out of work. I'm sure you all also know that in urban centres the situation is even worse, with only about 30% of unemployed workers receiving income support.
I want to use my time today to help us understand why this is happening. First of all, I think we need to disabuse ourselves of the notion that seasonal work is pertinent only to particular industries or provinces. If we replaced the term “seasonal work” in our minds with the term “non-full-year employment”, it's very easy to see that the issue of non-full-year employment is an issue everywhere, in urban centres as well as rural areas, and from the education sector to the retail sector. We know that fluctuating demand for services results in non-standard, non-full-year employment.
Let's remind ourselves that the services sector now comprises 80% of all jobs in Canada. That's a remarkable transformation. In retail, the average workweek is only about 28 hours, so the notion of a 40-hour workweek or even a 35-hour workweek is of a bygone era.
I do agree with my previous colleague. We also must end the rampant misclassification of workers. Too many so-called gig workers are ordinary workers who are, in fact, misclassified and are entitled to all the protections and entitlements under the law.
Why is it that workers are not getting EI when they need it? I want to run through three broad areas.
One is that workers are simply not getting enough hours to fulfill the hours requirement. While we welcome the recent announcement of a single universal standard of 420 hours to qualify for EI, we believe it should be reduced further to 360 hours or 12 weeks of work, whichever is best for the worker. We believe this should be the standard for both regular and special benefits. Of course, this change must be made permanent. If I get a chance, I'd love to elaborate on this further.
Two, workers are disqualified from EI when they have “quit” or “fired” on their record of employment. This rule is punitive, unnecessary and fails to recognize the reality of the labour market today. Until there is strong, just-cause protection legislation in every province for every worker, there's no denying the arbitrary nature of firings in the workplace. In Ontario, the employer doesn't even have to provide a reason for firing a worker. At the same time, workers also quit their jobs for a variety of very legitimate reasons, including racism on the job, scheduling changes or even health and safety reasons.
While we're getting rid of arbitrary rules, COVID has reminded us how important migrant workers are to the economy. We must get rid of the punitive and arbitrary rules that exclude migrant workers from accessing regular and special benefits.
Lastly, a big reason workers aren't getting EI when they need it is that they've exhausted their benefits because they don't last long enough.
Now I want to turn my attention to the improvements in EI income supports. Not only do we need to make sure EI is there when workers need it and when the economy needs it as well. We also want to make sure it's enough for workers to live on, and let me just say that 55% of income is not an adequate replacement. Especially when you think of the poverty-level minimum wage rates across the country, 55% of a subpoverty minimum wage is simply unsustainable. We need income replacement of up to 60% to 70%, and the earnings should be based on the worker's best 12 weeks of income.
In addition, we should be raising the ceiling on insurable earnings. This would have the effect of increasing revenues for the EI fund, as well as increasing weekly income supports.
Finally, on the question of revenue, EI is currently funded solely through employer and employee contributions, as was noted. We urge the federal government to come back to the table, put its pillar of funding on the table and restore the three pillars of funding that used to sustain EI in its heyday.
We know that this system can do what it needs to do for workers and for the economy. We just need to now implement the changes that are going to make it happen.
We should have a comprehensive review. Any of the temporary best changes that have just been announced should be made permanent. Let's find the political will to make it happen. We know from COVID this is the time to do it. We can't wait a minute longer.
Thanks very much for your time.