BC Government WCB changes harm injured workers

B.C. Federation of Labour report "shows that controversial changes made by the Campbell government to the Workers Compensation Board (WCB) have resulted in massive cost-savings for employers but has come at a profound cost to injured workers. “This Report shows the Campbell government’s changes to WCB were based entirely on the false claim that the existing compensation system was unsustainable,” says Jim Sinclair, President of the Federation. “Employers lobbied hard for these changes and they have been rewarded with huge cost-savings that have destroyed the lives of seriously injured workers.” . . . “Employers are saving hundreds of millions of dollars because seriously injured workers are being denied the compensation they need while disability claims and workplace fatalities continue to rise,” Sinclair added. "

WCB benefit cuts hurting claimants

Government’s WCB changes harm injured workers, save employers hundreds of millions of dollars

A Report released today by the B.C. Federation of Labour shows that controversial changes made by the Campbell government to the Workers Compensation Board (WCB) have resulted in massive cost-savings for employers but has come at a profound cost to injured workers.

“This Report shows the Campbell government’s changes to WCB were based entirely on the false claim that the existing compensation system was unsustainable,” says Jim Sinclair, President of the Federation. “Employers lobbied hard for these changes and they have been rewarded with huge cost-savings that have destroyed the lives of seriously injured workers.”

The most extreme consequences of the changes are the effective elimination of loss of earnings pensions and the virtual elimination of vocational rehabilitation services. This has had a negative economic impact on thousands of permanently injured workers and their families.

“The loss of earnings pension is one of the most important benefits for a seriously injured worker,” says Stan Guenther, one of the authors of the Report. “Without a pension and without the ability to work, an injured worker faces a lifetime of financial hardship.”

The changes made to the WCB pension system have also led to the virtual elimination of any need for vocational rehabilitation. As a result, the WCB’s rehabilitation budget was slashed from $130 million in 2002 to just $3 million in 2006.

“The loss of rehabilitation means the WCB has stopped providing the crucial assistance that injured workers need to return to the workplace and regain their ability to earn a living,” said Janet Patterson, one of the authors of the Report.

“Employers are saving hundreds of millions of dollars because seriously injured workers are being denied the compensation they need while disability claims and workplace fatalities continue to rise,” Sinclair added.

The Federation is calling on the provincial government to restore loss of earnings pensions, restore vocational rehabilitation services and implement the other recommendations made by the authors of the Report.

To see the full Report and Summary, click here.

About the authors:

Stan Guenther has been practising law in BC since 1978, with a focus on labour law, particularly in grievance arbitrations, and on the representation of injured workers and trade unions on Workers’ Compensation and other disability issues.

Sarah O’Leary was called to the bar in 1981 and has been focussed on Workers Compensation and disability law for the last 18 years. She has been a Workers Advisor, a Vice-Chair at the Appeal Division and a Disability Law specialist at the Legal Services Society.

Janet Patterson practices Workers’ Compensation law. She was with the BC Government & Service Employees Union (BCGEU) until her appointment to the Public Service Appeal Board in 1995. In 2001, she was appointed as an Appeal Commissioner at the Workers Compensation Board and then as a Vice-Chair and Deputy Registrar at the Workers Compensation Appeal Tribunal (WCAT).

April 22, 2009
B.C. Federation of Labour