Seasonal workers say they’re not reassured about pending changes to Employment Insurances after a visit from the federal minister of human resources.

Employees at the JW Mason & Sons Ltd. apple sorting and packing plant in Windsor met with the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development during a tour of the plant Tuesday.

Diane Finley told employees the current system has taught people not to look for work during the off months, and that needs to change.

But the workers said it appeared the minister doesn’t understand the reality of the difficulties facing seasonal workers.

“I don’t want to go somewhere else and get a job. They’re not going to keep us. When these guys have us, we’d like to stay here,” Mary Leopold told Finley.

Leopold said currently she only has between six and eight weeks a year of unemployment and getting a job to fill that gap leaves her with concerns that someone else will take her job at the apple packing plant.

Another big concern is travel.

Under the changes, workers who are laid off will have to take any work, which is similar to their occupation, within a one-hour drive and at 70 per cent of their previous pay.

“I don’t feel that I want to go to Coldbrook or any place else when this is close to home,” Leopold told News 95.7. “When you’re only making minimum wage and you’re going to Coldbrook you’re going to lose that.”
 
The Minister’s visit to Nova Scotia included a meeting with local directors of the Canadian Federation of Atlantic Businesses.

The CFIB said problems with the current EI system rank as the top concerns for its members in Atlantic Canada, specifically in Newfoundland and Labrador.

“It’s one of the most challenging issues they face for two reasons,” Leanne Hachey told the Rick Howe Show Tuesday. “One, they actually feel like they are competing with EI for workers. Secondly, they find the system isn’t being used as intended.”

Hachey said its members are seeing a lot of cases of employees receiving EI after they have either quit or been fired, circumstances which should disqualify them for the aid.

“We do support reforms that support both of those,” she said. “So the question mark for us is whether the changes that are on the table will address both of those problems. That’s something we won’t really know until they start coming into effect.”

Hachey said members left the meeting with a greater sense of clarity and fewer concerns about the incoming changes.

The Minister said the changes will have no effect on the seasonal agricultural worker program, and that there will be no changes to benefits. The Minister also said there will be people at the ground level deciding whether exceptions can be made to who qualifies for EI.