Ontario Construction News staff writer
The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) and the Ontario Compensation Employees Union engaged in mediated contract talks over the weekend, advancing proposals on key topics like wages, benefits, and workload, the WSIB said in a statement Monday.
“The WSIB is at the table, ready to land a deal, as it awaits a meaningful response from the union. In the meantime, the WSIB remains focused on being here to help people recover from workplace injury or illness,” the statement says.
It said the board has proposed above inflation wage increases over the next three years so that by 2027, more than 73 per cent of OCEU members would be earning more than $100,000.
The WSIB says the average caseload has been reduced by 60 per cent from the peak in 2021, and 100 net-new people have been added to the case management team. It says the WSIB has proposed to enhance a joint workload committee with dedicated resourcing to help speed plans to reduce caseload further.
“We have an amazing team that does tough but excellent work,” said Jeff Lang, president and CEO of the WSIB. “When people are hurt at work, we help them recover and return to what matters, and we’re getting the best results in a decade.”
The WSIB continues to be open during a province-wide strike that began on May 22. Since then, the organization says it has registered more 11,000 new claims and issued over 60,000 payments to people off work because of their injuries.
People can continue to log in to WSIB’s website 24/7 to:
- Report an injury or illness
- Submit documents for an existing claim
- See claim, payment, and health benefit information in real time
- Register a new business
- Access clearances
Telephone support is also available from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday to Friday, though wait times are likely to be higher than usual.
The 3,600 striking WSIB workers represented by OCEU/CUPE 1750 are calling for wage increase on par with inflation, safer workplaces, and an end to what the union calls the outsourcing of Ontario jobs to U.S.-based firms.
NDP MPP for Thunder Bay–Superior North, Lise Vaugeois, shadow minister for seniors and accessibility, with responsibility for WSIB and injured workers, joined the picket line in Thunder Bay after the weekend, saying management and the Ford government have shut out workers and contracted out critical services to the U.S.
Harry Goslin, president of OCEU/CUPE 1750, said members continue to face chronic understaffing, stagnant wages, and growing pressure to outsource public services.
