Two-thirds of all approved COVID-19-related claims to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board in Ottawa came from workers at nursing homes and residential care facilities – but the numbers should be much higher.
“Many of these [long-term care] workers are part-time. They’ll just go home. They won’t file claims and they’ll wait out … the virus. There is no access to WSIB if you have to go home and self-isolate if you’ve been exposed but don’t necessarily have a confirmed case,” said Candace Rennick, secretary treasurer of CUPE Ontario.
Rennick said one reason some of those employees may not be applying for compensation is they don’t know they have the right to if they became ill on the job.
