In the News April 28

April 28 Day of Mourning

Interviews

Steve Mantis, Injured Workers’ Advocate

Steve Mantis is the Chair of the Ontario Network of Injured Workers Groups Research Action Committee. The letter below was submitted for publication on the occasion of Injured Workers Day.

As we are approaching April 28th, the International Day of Mourning for Workers Killed or Injured in the Workplace, I have serious concerns about the direction of our provincial government and some of our public institutions. The Ministry of Labour (MOL) and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) will certainly issue press releases about protecting workers, but their actions tell a different story.

In many workplaces, the economics of health and safety are an important part of determining what resources are available for prevention. The greater the possible costs for injuries and diseases, the greater the incentive for prevention.

Our current provincial government, in the first three years of their term in office, has reduced premiums for “safety insurance” at the WSIB by 42 per cent from 2018 to 2020. And in 2022, the WSIB has decided to return $1.5 Billion to employers resulting in another 30 per cent average reduction in 2022 premiums.

Injured and disabled workers saw more of their claims being denied, their access to appropriate medical care denied and long-term consequences of their disability denied. At the same time, the MOL has almost stopped their enforcement reducing their tickets and orders for health & safety infractions by almost 90 per cent since 2018. Many workers have lost faith in the WSIB and the MOL and aren’t even bothering to report injuries and diseases to these institutions.

When speaking to a university class recently, a number of the students shared that it was common knowledge at their workplace that if you report an accident, you have a good chance of being fired.

On April 28, we ask everyone to recommit to safe work. We want our public institutions to do the same and change their present direction. We are seeking accountability for those workers who gave their lives and their bodies at work.

Fight for the living and mourn for the dead.

Workers’ Forum, posted April 28, 2022.

[BACK]