e Farmworkers and supporters protest in Vancouver against the Mulroney cutbacks to the unemployment insurance system. Seasonal workers are going to be hit hard by the cuts when they become law. Government Americanizes Ul system As Canadians move closer to the edge of a recession, the Tory govern- ment is pushing ahead with its reform of the Unemployment Insurance Act (Bill C-21). Passed in December of 1989, the bill has been delayed by the Liberal dominated senate whose chairman, Jacques Hebert has char- acterized the Tory reform “a demoli- tion operation designed to destroy the present unemployment insurance system.” Hebert has, along with labour, social and church groups, expressed the feeling that the bill is intended to harmonize Canadian social programs with that of the United States. Critics and supporters of the U.S.-Canada free trade agreement have both long been saying such reform would be a by-product of the FTA. The Mulroney government, like its US. counterpart, is cutting all federal contributions to the system. Canada will become the only other major industrialized country to do so. Over the past decade the U.S. gov- ernment has been transferring com- plete responsibility over to the states for management of the system. Uni- versality of benefits have been destroyed with wide variations in eli- gibility requirements and benefit enti- tlements. More than one third of U.S. workers are completely ineligible for unemployment insurance. Besides its halting contributions to the 3 way funding formula, the Tory government’s high interest rates pol- icy and deliberate support of a high Canadian dollar is ensuring that industrial workers are being laid off across the country. The shortfall in federal funding will create an estimated $3 billion deficit by the end of 1992. This will most certainly ensure further cuts to the entire system. In mid February, the Senate Com- mittee released a list of 12 reeommen- dations to amend C-21. Despite sub- missions from more than 100 groups, most of which called for scrapping of the bill, the Senate proposals fell upon deaf ears in the House of Commons. Among the Senate’s recommenda- tions were that the government back down on its job training program designed to rob UI recipients of bene- fits. More than $800,000 will be used by the Tories for training programs, one third of which is designated to assist corporations with workers who are already employed. Other Senate recommendations included shorter qualification periods, reduced penalties for these workers who quit their jobs, and special regionally extended benefits. The Canadian Labour Congress estimates close to 130,000 Canadians will become ineligible for UIC bene- fits. These figures, which conflict with the Mulroney government's estimate of 30,000 people, are based on a CLC report from Stats Canada applied to the UI reform rules based on Canadi- ans employed in 1988. (Seventy-five percent of these getting benefits were earning less than $25,000 year). Unemployment in December of last year climbed to a nationwide average of 7.7%. Government analysts antici- pate that the rate should jump to nearly 9% by year end. In regions of Atlantic Canada, where unemployment figures are in the double digits, workers will have to wait as much as four extra weeks in some regions for reduced benefits after the changes take place. By late 1989 the federal govern- ment was advising employers to deduct higher premiums from work- ers starting in 1990, despite C-21 not having been passed. The illegal advice by the government was seen by the opposition parties as an act of over- riding Parliament. Maximum premiums to the Unem- ployment Insurance Commission from workers’ pay cheques, are to increase by 22%. Tories to sell rail assets after VIA cuts @ Despite prolonged opposition from interest groups and the Canadian pub- lic at large, the federal government has pressed ahead to decimate the nation’s rail passenger service. In mid-January the crown corpora- tion VIA rail cut over 2,700 jobs and passenger service within most regions of the country. The rail legacy is being torn apart by the Mulroney govern- ment. VIA president Ron Lawless has announced the privatization of rail routes as public assets are to be auc- tioned off. Without any formal privatization plans, the Tories are about to fire sale thousands of miles of rail behind closed doors. No condi- tions for use of the privatized assets have been announced by the govern- ment. As a front for the decimation of VIA service the government has - appointed a royal commission to look into transportation in the next cen- tury. Labour critics see the move as a selling tactic during the government's wholesale privatization move. The cuts, which will pocket the government over $1.5 billion in the next 3 years, have had devastating effects on employment. While Quebec has lost 30% of its VIA work force and Ontario has lost 38%, cuts to 3 routes in the Mari- times, eliminating 60 of 66 weekly runs, have affected nearly two-thirds of the VIA work force. In western Canada, 43% of VIA’s staff is eliminated as passenger ser- vice from Winnipeg through Vancou- ver is cut and rail service on Vancou- ver Island has disappeared. Northern Ontario routes from Kenora to White River to Montreal and Kapuskasing to Cochrane have been cut completely. Since the cuts, both the crown Canadian National Railway and pri- vate Canadian Pacific Railway have announced plans to eliminate their east-west rail lines by as much as 40%. Under the U.S.-Canada free trade agreement both corporations have been further adapting themselves to north-south cross border traffic with the United States. The Mulroney gov- ernment is under pressure by the cor- porations to let them abandon more than the 4% of their track annually that the law allows them. MULRONEY HAS A NO-TRACK I MIND! eS MULRONEY: ei) DERAILLES! “1WA 1-357) SUPPORTS e At a B.C. Federation of Labour rally against VIA rail cuts in November ‘89 were (Lr), Chris Haines; Harjinder Hundle, Local 1-424; Russ Barclay; Eddie Oikawa; and Ron Paradis. Emotional crowds organized by community and labour groups fought hard against the government cut- backs for several months after the 1989 budget announced the decima- tion of the passenger service. The job losses will cost the federal government $140 million in employee severance packages and employment security provisions in collective agree- ments with unionized workers. Provincial governments have also protested the move. An unpublished study by the Alberta government esti- mates that in excess of $100 million in annual tourist revenue will be lost annually while the Manitoba govern- ment estimates about $60 million in similar losses. The overall estimated direct job loss to locomotive engineers, conduc- tors, attendants, ticket takers, and indirect job losses to tourist and ser- vices industry will affect well over 10,000 people. LUMBERWORKER/MARCH, 1990/3