Vol. 77/No. 16      April 29, 2013

The action is being built by the Quebec Coalition Against Employment Insurance Reform, made up of Quebec’s three main union federations, the provincial farmers’ union, community groups, organizations of the unemployed and student unions.

“We, like others, are seasonal workers and we use employment insurance especially in the summer when the hotel gets fewer contracts,” Suzanne Hamel, a banquet worker on strike against the Hôtel des Seigneurs in Saint-Hyacinthe, told the Militant at an April 11 demonstration here. The action of some 200 is one among a number of rallies taking place across the province to build the April 27 demonstration. “We need it to supplement the hours we don’t get at work,” Hamel said, who came to the action on a bus with 60 striking coworkers.

Under the new law, which went into effect in January, unemployed workers are divided into three categories based on how often they have received jobless insurance over a five-year period — hitting seasonal workers particularly hard. Some would be required to immediately accept jobs at 80 percent of their previous wages and at 70 percent after seven weeks. Workers would also be required to look for work within a radius of 100 kilometers (62 miles).

For information on how to participate in the action, visit: www.nonausaccage.org.

Annette Kouri contributed to this article.
 
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