Editor:
On Monday, Sept. 7, Canadians will celebrate Labour Day, but this year we are facing a challenging time. More than 1.5 million Canadian workers have lost their jobs and more than 800,000 are on Employment Insurance. Many others are being left to fend for themselves. The EI program has a stunning $57 billion surplus, but only about 50 per cent of unemployed Canadians are actually collecting EI.
Unemployment is devastating for workers and families, and it also hurts our communities. The unemployed have less money to spend in the local grocery store or garage. Yet the federal Conservative government refuses to make EI available to hundreds of thousands of unemployed Canadians. That's why our labour council, along with the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), is fighting to make EI accessible to all workers who need it.
While people are reeling from job losses, they are also seeing their pensions and retirement income evaporate. More than 60 per cent of working Canadians don't have a workplace pension plan, and the promise that RRSPs will provide security in retirement has proven to be false. The CLC has launched a campaign to double the benefits of our public Canada Pension Plan over the next seven to 10 years.
We believe that our proposals for improving EI and protecting pensions will improve the lives of union members and serve the interests of all Canadians.
Louise Hood, Sunshine Coast Labour Council
