June 1 is Injured Workers’ Day —an opportunity for injured workers and activists to come together to call for change at the Workplace Safety & Insurance Board (WSIB).
“For far too long, the rights and needs of injured workers have been ignored,” said Martha Villeda, WSIB specialist at the local union. “Instead of helping workers, WSIB has created a hostile environment and have failed to ensure injured workers are treated fairly.”
The history of the day dates back to 1983 when 3,000 workers united for change to Ontario’s workers’ compensation system.
“Injured workers and their families are suffering because of Ontario’s broken workers’ compensation system,” said President Wayne Hanley. “Injured workers are not statistics, they are human beings who should be treated with dignity and respect and whose voices deserve to be heard. That’s why it is important more than ever to come together for a strong public workers’ compensation system.”
As part of the Workers’ Comp is a Right campaign, injured workers are calling for the following recommendations:
Stop cutting compensation based on jobs that injured workers do not have
Listen to the doctors of injured workers.
Stop cutting benefits based on “pre-existing conditions”
UFCW Canada Local 1006A attended the June 1 rally at Queen’s Park to show our support and commitment to this important issue.
