The NDP will introduce a bill in the House of Commons this week to change provisions in the Employment Insurance Act that prevent women who are laid off at the end of their maternity leave from continuing their EI coverage.
NDP Labour Critic Chris Charlton said Tuesday morning she will introduce the private member's bill to help new mothers who lose their jobs shortly before or after returning to work and find out they have used up their EI benefits.
"My bill will bring fairness to working mothers by eliminating the combined 50 week cap entirely, so that families could access their maternity, parental, sickness and compassionate care benefits without worrying that, if they lose their jobs in the interim, they will also lose their EI," Charlton, MP for the Ontario riding of Hamilton Mountain, said in a statement.
Charlton's bill aims to rid the EI Act of the so-called anti-stacking provision, which, for example, prevents mothers who have been on maternity and parental benefits from receiving standard EI benefits if they lose their jobs while on leave.
In late March, Human Resources Minister Diane Finley announced that the federal government would spend an addition $60 million to bolster the EI system. The money will be used to hire more workers to process claims more quickly and to extend the period of coverage by five weeks.
However, the opposition parties complained that the changes did not go far enough, saying that EI should include the part-time and self-employed workers who are ineligible for benefits.
Finley's announcement did not mention changes to the anti-stacking provision, despite the fact that lawyers are reporting a spike in the number of women complaining they have lost their jobs while on maternity leave.
Lawyer Daniel Lublin, an employment law expert, said about four times the number of women are coming to him complaining they were laid off while on leave.
Most provinces have legislation that says that a woman is entitled to return to her job, or a comparable job, upon her return from maternity leave.
However, a provision says an employee can be terminated if it's unrelated to the leave, such as a restructuring.
"And that's kind of the card that they all play," Lublin told CTV.ca in a telephone interview. "They say it's the economy, we're letting you go."
Lublin believes that of the thousands of workers who are losing their jobs in the current economic downturn, many are on leave.
"They're easy targets. They're out of the workplace, out of sight out of mind," Lublin said.
"When you're not there to fight for your job or to work with your employer through the hard times, it's easier for them to turn a blind eye to you."
Amending the EI Act, as the NDP proposes, or changing provincial employment legislation are possible solutions, Lublin said.
But the best option, Lublin believes, would be trying a precedent-setting case before the courts that would compel employers to give more severance to workers they fire while on leave.
"You always look at someone's individual circumstances when assessing their severance pay...so if you agree with me that it's more difficult for a mother who has just come back from maternity leave to find other work, then you should also agree with me that that person would be entitled to more," Lublin said.
However, because getting a case to trial is expensive and time-consuming, a legislative pronouncement, such as the private member's bill, is a quick and widespread remedy.
Last week, NDP Leader Jack Layton said his party would spend the 10 weeks left in the current Parliamentary session working on EI reform and improving other benefits for the unemployed.
Charlton is calling for her bill to be rushed through Parliament before Mother's Day, May 10.
"We know that this government is capable of rushing through priority legislation in as little as a couple of days. They've done it before," Charlton said. "Hard-working women deserve more than just flowers and chocolates, they deserve fairness when it comes to accessing EI this Mother's Day."
