Conservatives drawing inspiration from China again. [View all]

[Joe Shlabotnik]

EI reform: Unions say Harper’s ‘pay-less wage model’ will hurt all workers
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1178645--ei-reform-changes-will-drive-down-wages-for-everyone?bn=1

"2012 budget is a “pay-less wage model” that is unfair to temporary workers from abroad and is designed to provide business with a pool of low-paid employees across Canada, labour activists said Tuesday."

"Conservatives new measures will exert a “terrible downward pressure” on all workers’ wages in this country.
Full details of the new regime are only dribbling out, but the changes have already raised alarms among opposition Members of Parliament and some economists."

"Concerns were also raised about measures in the budget legislation intended to pressure EI recipients to loosen their criteria for suitable employment. On Monday, Flaherty confirmed the government intends to clamp down on EI claimants.
Flaherty said the government will expand the threshold for what is considered a suitable job for EI recipients. That means that those who pass up such employment could lose their EI benefits."

"He also indicated that he has little sympathy for EI recipients who are too picky about the jobs they will accept.
“There is no bad job, the only bad job is not having a job,” he said."

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Once again, more ideologically driven back door Austerity. Raise the retirement age, make EI less and less available, force the unemployed to accept lower wages regardless of education or experience, increase the competition with lower paid foreign temporary workers. Naturally hide all this in a 425 page budget bill, along with environmental regulatory changes and job cuts that no-one has had the time to read, examine or debate, and ram it through parliament. Fuckers.

FWIW, The NDP plan to hold public hearings to raise awareness about the budget, and although they are basically an exercise in good PR, it would be good if they received as much press as possible. They are soliciting our comments here: http://budget2012.ndp.ca/