Board says it's consolidating claim and account management functions
The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) is eliminating hundreds of positions and shuttering its physical offices across northern Ontario.
The Ontario Compensation Employees Union (OCEU), which represents WSIB workers, said the following positions would be cut across the north: 136 in Sudbury, 55 in Thunder Bay, 20 in Sault Ste. Marie, 15 in North Bay and 12 in Timmins, CBC News reported.
More than 300 additional jobs will be cut at centres in Guelph, Kingston, St. Catharines, Waterloo and Windsor.
WSIB: ‘A difficult decision’
In a statement to CBC News, the WSIB confirmed that it "has made the difficult decision to consolidate claim and account management functions, and as a result, there will be some roles that relocate and adjustments to local staffing needs."
The agency said impacted employees will have access to resume writing assistance, job-seeking services, and continued benefits including mental health support, CBC News reported. The WSIB declined to comment on the specific job loss figures provided by the OCEU.
The agency maintained that "how people access our services has not changed and we continue to help with recovery and return to work and local health care supports."
Closure of SIEF brings criticism
The job cuts come as WSIB faces mounting criticism from multiple directions.
Earlier this month, the agency confirmed the closure of the Second Injury and Enhancement Fund (SIEF), which had provided employers with premium relief when an injured worker had a pre-existing condition.
The Construction Employers Coalition and other industry groups called for a pause and a formal consultation — a request WSIB has flatly rejected.
'We are already under-resourced'
Harry Goslin, president of the OCEU, said the cuts would compound existing staffing pressures at the agency and ultimately hurt the workers WSIB exists to serve.
"We are already under-resourced as it is. We have severe workload problems and it will hurt injured workers in Ontario," he told CBC News.
Goslin said the WSIB has indicated it will continue to staff in-person return-to-work services with new employers in northern Ontario, but that all other roles — including nurses and payment representatives — "would end up moving to southern Ontario," CBC News reported.
Ontario NDP MPP Lise Vaugeois, the party's shadow minister responsible for WSIB, condemned the cuts in a statement, calling the closures "a complete betrayal" of workers — particularly at a time of growing demand in northern industries.
"At a time when the demand for workers in construction, forestry, and mining is increasing, the WSIB has now made it exponentially harder for people to access support," she said in a release.
Jennie Stevens, NDP MPP for St. Catharines, said the layoffs will mean the loss of “experienced, high-seniority workers who carry years of institutional knowledge about Ontario’s workers’ compensation system.”
“These cuts will also have consequences for injured workers who rely on the WSIB when they are at their most vulnerable. Fewer experienced staff could mean longer claim-processing times and greater delays for workers who need that income to pay rent, buy groceries, and support their families.
