A smorgasbord of labour groups congregated this afternoon outside the Delta Chelsea Hotel to call for reforms to Canada’s Employment Insurance plan.

About five hundred people attended the rally organized by Good Jobs for All, the Canadian Labour Congress and the Toronto and York Region Labour Council to call on the federal government to make it easier for unemployed workers to collect E.I. benefits.

The rally started at 1 p.m. at Metro Hall where several union workers were heard. The group then marched along King Street, down Bay Street and finally reached the hotel on Gerrard Street at 2:45 p.m., where several speakers took to the microphone amid chants, slogans and waving flags.

Fa Lim, a former auto worker who lost his job during the recession, took the stage outside of Metro Hall to share the difficulties he and his former co-workers are now facing.

“Now, most of [us] are running out of E.I.,” said Lim. “Some are using their credit card to pay for their mortgage; some borrow from Money Mart with 20 per cent interest just for food; some are already facing eviction. We want to fix E.I. ? that doesn?t mean we want to live on E.I.”

Following the speakers at Metro Hall, the march to the hotel caused temporary traffic delays along its route. The march was led by social activist and musician Faith Nolan, who sat in the back of the slow-moving pick-up truck that led the rally. Nolan sang a number of union-inspired songs and led chants for the length of the trip.

“Workers benefits under attack, what are we gonna do? Stand up, fight back!” she sang as the march made its way south on Bay Street.

“Employment insurance is the most effective economic stabilizer,” said Good Jobs for All Coalition co-chair Winnie Ng. “And making it more accessible is the right thing to do.”

Labour groups say they’re worried the government will go on summer break before making its promised E.I. reforms.

“There’s one week left before they go on holiday,” said Tan Goossen, another Coalition co-chair. “It’s a shame they’re going on holiday when workers have all these issues that have yet to be resolved.”

The groups are calling for three main reforms: higher E.I. benefit rates, a country-wide standard of 360 for the number of hours required to qualify for E.I. and shorter wait times before benefits begin.

“Look at all the millions of dollars that get lost when it comes to high-priced consultants,” said Ng. “But when it comes to regular workers, they get nothing.”

Also in attendance were about 50 in the red T-shirts of ACORN, a group of activists who work on poverty, labour, and environmental issues.

“People who had good jobs and contributed to their country are getting pink slips and now can’t meet their own needs,” said ACORN spokesperson Kay Bisnath. “I know the economy is not doing well, but people should be offered good jobs, jobs that match their qualifications.”

Inside the Delta Chelsea hotel, where the E.I. march came to an end, OPSEU and the LCBO were holding ongoing negotiations to avert a looming strike by liquor store employees. Toronto and York Region Labour Council president John Cartwright said that was part of the reason the demonstration was held outside the Delta Chelsea, but there was another reason as well.

“The Delta Chelsea, along with other Toronto hotels, has been trying to use the economic crisis to squeeze their employees and force them to do more work for the same pay,” he said. “So we wanted to end up at one of the hotels, and this was the one.”

The Delta Chelsea, at Yonge and Gerrard, is often used as the venue for labour negotiations.