Resolution No. 9 Permanent Employment Insurance and Social Programs Reform
Unifor National Will:
- Pressure all levels of governments to strengthen the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), Old Age Security (OAS) and social supports to help seniors retire with
- Continue to advocate for an Employment Insurance (EI) program that expands eligibility, access and benefits.
- Lobby the federal government to ensure permanent EI reform and social supports that help
seniors.
- Mobilize members to participate in EI and Retirement Security campaign
Because:
- The CPP has recently been threatened by right wing governments, with previous federal governments threatening to increase the age qualifier for retirement benefits.
- Recent Statistics Canada reports highlighted that nearly one in five Canadians are 65 years of age or older with nearly one in five current retirees having less than $25,000 in savings or investments;
- The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted how broken the El system in Canada is - with it’s restrictive eligibility criteria, low benefit rates and significant gaps in worker coverage;
- Unifor members across Canada continue to be negatively impacted by an El system that doesn’t
work for workers;
- Unions have an obligation to advocate for their membership and the collective needs of
Canadians;
- Unifor was founded on the principle of social unionism with a commitment to work in common cause with other progressives in Canada to achieve economic progress for all.
Respectfully Submitted by:
Local 707