CLAC Open Letter to Doug Ford: WSIB Coverage Is Desperately Needed for All Healthcare Heroes

Cambridge ON, Dec. 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --  

Dear Premier Ford,

The government of Ontario has missed a critical opportunity to protect some of its healthcare heroes with the new legislation that will amend the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act.

The current bill purports to support employers and workers by continuing scheduled increases to benefits while ensuring that premiums do not increase. What it fails to do is expand mandatory coverage through the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) to all retirement and group home workers in the province?those among our critical heroes of healthcare. These front-line healthcare workers will instead be deliberately left exposed to the risk of financial ruin and find themselves unsupported when hit by workplace injury or illness.

As you know, the number of lost time injuries experienced by these workers is as great as those doing similar work in long-term care centres, and far greater than the incident rate of hospital workers. Yet these workers are excluded from the public insurance system. Instead, employers offer an inferior private insurance option that provides significantly less protection and little recourse in the case of disputed claims. Continuing to turn a blind eye to this reality is indefensible. It is a callous sacrifice of people for dollars.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the inferiority of private insurance coverage. Healthcare workers who contracted the coronavirus in their workplace were not able to get insurance coverage when they became ill. This is especially worrisome for workers who are already experiencing the long-hauler effects of COVID-19 or have developed other conditions or complications because of the virus. Under the public WSIB system, these workers would be covered.

In your government's recent operational review of the WSIB, released in November 2020, authors Linda Regner Dykeman and Sean Speer address this problem head-on with a recommendation that WSIB coverage be made mandatory for developmental support workers and those working in residential care facilities, including retirement and group homes. Yet this recommendation has not been followed.

Attempts to address the lack of coverage for these essential workers has also been made by MPP John Fraser, who has submitted three private members bills designed to extend WSIB coverage to these

vulnerable workers. Resistance to including these workers was in part due to WSIB's unfunded liability, at one time a whopping $14 billion, and a rate framework change. But that liability was resolved in 2018, almost 10 years ahead of WSIB's schedule. The province is currently offering employers premium reductions, rate freezes, and other incentives.

Private coverage costs less because it does less. In addition to exposure to workplace illness, the other known shortcomings of private insurance, compared to WSIB's, include

?             no wage protection for loss of secondary employment for part-time workers

?             rejection of any claim in which the disability is owing to an event at a previous workplace

?             no meaningful system of appeal for rejected claims, other than costly civil litigation

?             no retraining or re-employment support for disabled workers

?             limited or no survivor benefits

?             limited and lower wage protection (WSIB is 85% of net earnings, until age 65 and with additional payment for noneconomic loss)

?             limited or no payment unless a worker is permanently and completely disabled

We have met with your office, your Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development, the Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility, and countless others on this important urgent matter. Expressions of concern and support have been offered, yet unfortunately the government has failed to act.

Instead, the courageous individuals who continue to serve our communities during this global pandemic are left with inadequate protection for the critical and demanding role they perform for our loved ones across the province.

Please, Premier Ford, act now by amending Bill 238 to protect all our heroes in healthcare.

Sincerely,

Ian DeWaard

Ontario Director

CLAC

cc.

The Hon. Raymond Cho, Minister Responsible for Seniors and Accessibility

The Hon. Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development

The Hon. Todd Smith, Minister of Children, Community and Social Services

About CLAC

Formed in 1952, CLAC is a national union representing over 60,000 workers in almost every sector of the economy. Based on values of respect, dignity, and fairness, CLAC is committed to building better workplaces, better communities, and better lives. CLAC is a founding member of Canada Works and an affiliated member of the World Organization of Workers.

For more information, visit us at clac.ca.                                                Media Contacts

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