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TORONTO, Ont. – The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) National President Paul Moist and CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn join members of CUPE 1750 in their urgent call for Ontario to put the needs of injured workers at the forefront.
This week, Ontario WSIB issued redundancy notices to more than 80 employees.
“We believe this is only the beginning of job cuts and outsourcing at a time when Ontario’s economy is struggling to maintain good jobs,” Moist said. “Clearly, the cuts are not what Premier Dalton McGuinty had in mind when he made a commitment to Ontarians during his speech at the Canadian Club of Toronto earlier this year when he said Ontario will build “the rock-solid foundation families need to support their jobs, their schools, their health care, their future.”
“The WSIB should be focused on using their skilled employees to help the legion of injured workers,” Hahn said. “Even if every job was cut, there would still be an unfunded liability at WSIB. The liability is not the problem, the skilled staff are not the problem, and the short-sited cuts are not the solution.”
Harry Goslin, President of CUPE 1750 said, “Cutting skilled employees and outsourcing non-profit work to for- profit organizations will not help the organization fulfill its mandate. No one wins when an organization reduces services and increases wait times.
“The truth is costs at WSIB have outpaced revenue by five per cent each year since 1999. The WSIB is trying to find savings to reduce their unfunded liability, in part, by cutting the very dedicated staff that have made gains in improving service and helping workers get back on their feet.
“How can the province stand by while the very organization that was created to protect workers is being gutted and handed over in pieces to private, for-profit companies that care little for those injured on the job? Workers gained the right to workers’ compensation benefits, regardless of fault, in return for giving up the right to sue their employers. It is time for the province to step in and protect the vulnerable,” concluded Goslin.
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For more information, contact:
Paul Moist, President, CUPE National, 613-237-1590
Fred Hahn, President, CUPE Ontario, 416-540-3979
Harry Goslin, President, CUPE 1750, 905-676-0030
Wendy Forbes , CUPE Communications, 416-292-3999
