Every day, skilled and dedicated case managers, nurses, return to work specialists, health & safety specialists and other crucial workers who provide much needed services to injured workers at the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) go to work to help keep Ontarians safe. They make sure more than 5.3 million workers across 325,000 workplaces can access their benefits, that their families get the support they need when an injury occurs, that workplaces take steps to mitigate risk, and that hurt workers have a path to return to work when they’re ready.
This isn’t just insurance. The workers of CUPE 1750 (also known as the Ontario Compensation Employees Union – OCEU) look at the people behind the cases and ensure everyone is taken care of. Their work takes time – to properly evaluate a case, to map out necessary preventative measures for a workplace, to work with families.
These CUPE members are there to help workers through some of the most difficult times in their lives, but right now they need our help. OCEU has reaching an impasse with their employer. Dangerously high workloads and minimal supports has made it so that workers at the WSIB suffer from anxiety and depression at three times the national average. When their bargaining team brought up these issues at the table, they were met with frustration and insincerity from the WSIB management. These workers deserve better. That’s why they have made the difficult decision to walk off the job.
Workers who can’t make it to the picket line are encouraged to send a letter to the WSIB Board of Directors demanding they negotiate with OCEU in good faith. Send your letter at www.cupe.ca/wsib.
