100 others leave voluntarily
Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) cut about 129 unionized and non-unionized positions in March.
An additional 100 employees have elected to voluntarily exit the WSIB.
The exits are in addition to 80 layoffs announced by Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) in February.
The WSIB now has about 4,400 employees, according to the board.
The WSIB has launched a number of self-serve, online services and automation improvements in the last two years. These tools mean the board requires fewer employees to perform manual tasks and administrative work, the WSIB said.
“Everything we do needs to be centered on our commitment to help workers recover and return to work,” said WSIB president and CEO I. David Marshall. “We are focused on getting workers and employers back to what matters to them.”
The cuts don’t put the needs of injured workers at the forefront, said CUPE national president Paul Moist and CUPE Ontario president Fred Hahn.
"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.”
Cutting employees and outsourcing non-profit work to for-profit organizations will not help the WSIB fulfill its mandate, said Harry Goslin, president of CUPE 1750.
"The truth is costs at WSIB have outpaced revenue by five per cent each year since 1999,” said Goslin. “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.”
The WSIB said costs outpace premium revenue increases by four per cent each year.
“However, with the recent premium increases along with the WSIB's medical and return to work interventions that are getting workers back on the job sooner, we're beginning to see costs coming down and revenues increasing,” said the WSIB, when contacted by email.
Unionized staff who received notice will be able to exercise their rights under the collective agreement with the WSIB. Non-unionized staff were provided with outplacement counselling services to assist with their re-entry into the workforce, said the WSIB.
