Latest news with #WorkplaceSafetyandInsuranceBoard
Global News
07-07-2025
- Business
- Global News
Ontario public insurance workers return to work, ending months-long strike
Workers who handle coverage and claims for injured workers in Ontario are returning to their posts Monday after a lengthy strike and standoff with their provincial employer. Unionized staff with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board voted to ratify a tentative government deal on Sunday, ending a strike which began back in May. 'I am proud of my coworkers and the strength of our union, we are a critical safety net for Ontario workers and Ontarians spoke up, sending thousands of messages to the WSIB leadership,' Harry Goslin, president of OCEU/CUPE 1750, said in a statement. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'Together, we were able to secure the best possible outcome and successfully pushed back against the employer's attacks on union seniority rights.' The union represents some 3,600 frontline WSIB workers, who handle injury and insurance coverage claims for various jobs, including police and firefighters. Story continues below advertisement The strike, which began on May 21, was the first in the WSIB's history, according to the union. It lasted for more than a month and a half before it ended. The union had complained about the wages being offered to staff in the new deal, as well as workload and concerns about some jobs being outsourced to the United States.
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
WSIB, union say they've reached tentative deal
More than a month after talks broke down and workers hit the picket lines, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) and the Ontario Compensation Employees Union (OCEU) say they have reached a tentative agreement. About 3,600 members of the OCEU, also known as CUPE Local 1750, which represents workers at the WSIB, have been on strike for better wages and working conditions since May 22. The WSIB put out a news release on Saturday, announcing the tentative deal and saying it expected its full workforce to be back within 24 hours of a successful ratification vote. "We thank Ontarians for the patience they've shown us during the labour disruption," WSIB president and CEO Jeff Lang said in the statement. "Our team is committed to delivering better, easier, and faster service to Ontarians and we can't wait to get back to doing what we do best – helping people." The statement did not provide any details about the agreement. In a statement Friday afternoon, CUPE 1750 said no further details of the agreement will be made public until a ratification vote takes place in the coming days. "Our members were clear, they wanted real investments in frontline staffing, a stop to outsourcing Ontario jobs, and safer workloads. While we'll be presenting the full details to our members first, I can say this, our bargaining team believes we've made meaningful progress on those priorities," said union OCEU/CUPE 1750 president Harry Goslin in the release. The WSIB provides workplace injury and illness insurance to more than 5.3 million people in more than 300,000 Ontario workplaces, according to the board's statement. As WSIB service returns to normal, the board says people can continue to go online to report an injury or illness, submit documents for existing claims, register a new business, access clearances or see up-to-date claim, payment and health benefit information.
Cision Canada
05-07-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
WSIB and OCEU reach tentative agreement to end labour disruption Français
TORONTO, July 5, 2025 /CNW/ - The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) is pleased to announce a tentative agreement has been reached with the Ontario Compensation Employees Union (OCEU). The organization looks forward to welcoming back its full team within 24 hours of a successful ratification vote. "Our number one priority has always been—and continues to be—helping the people who depend on us," said Jeff Lang, President and CEO of the WSIB. "We do work that makes a difference in people's lives and in our communities. I am proud of our team's work the last few weeks and am very excited for everyone to come back together so we can keep supporting Ontarians who need us." As normal service resumes, people can continue to log in to the WSIB's website anytime, 24/7 to: Report an injury or illness Submit documents for an existing claim See claim, payment, and health benefit information in real time Register a new business Access clearances "We thank Ontarians for the patience they've shown us during the labour disruption," said Lang. "Our team is committed to delivering better, easier, and faster service to Ontarians and we can't wait to get back to doing what we do best – helping people." The WSIB provides workplace injury and illness insurance to more than 5.3 million people in more than 300,000 workplaces across Ontario. When an injury or illness happens on the job, the WSIB provides wage-loss benefits, medical coverage and support to help people get back to work. Funded by Ontario businesses, the WSIB also provides no-fault collective liability insurance and access to industry-specific health and safety information.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CUPE: WSIB CEO Misled Minister and Public, Leaked Internal Memo Shows
TORONTO, June 12, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Ontario Compensation Employees Union (OCEU/CUPE 1750) is renewing its call for accountability at the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), after revelations the union first brought forward, a growing claims backlog and costly shortcuts, which continue to be downplayed and denied by WSIB leadership. Despite internal evidence to the contrary, WSIB leadership from the CEO on down assured the public and the government that the WSIB was "keeping up," while the Minister of Labour repeated those false claims in the Legislature. "For weeks, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board's CEO has been telling Ontario that everything is fine, that there's no backlog and no risk. Now we know that was a lie," said Harry Goslin, President of OCEU/CUPE 1750. "We have a leaked internal memo from WSIB management that proves the opposite: the backlog is growing, and the system is on fire." The internal memo, sent to WSIB staff over the weekend, confirms the agency is taking shortcuts by automatically approving nearly all physical injury claims, even those with delayed reporting, pre-existing conditions, or active employer objections. WSIB admits in the memo that these shortcuts "increased risk" and are only in place to work through the mounting backlog. What's worse, the union says, is that Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development of Ontario, David Piccini repeated the CEO's false reassurances in Question Period, telling MPPs and the public that the WSIB was "keeping up" when the opposite was true. "If a regular Ontarian lied to their boss, there would be consequences. But somehow Jeffrey Lang, the CEO of the WSIB, thinks he can mislead his boss, mislead the public, and walk away unscathed. That's unacceptable," said Goslin. "You don't get to play by a different set of rules just because you're at the top." The lockout of 3,600 frontline WSIB workers began on May 21. Union members are calling for a fair deal that protects public service standards and ensures injured workers get the support they deserve without delay or deception. "It's time for the CEO to answer for this. It's time for the government to stop covering for WSIB leadership," said Goslin. "This lockout needs to end. Workers are ready to get back to work and fix the damage that's been done." mb/cope491 View source version on Contacts For more information, or to arrange an interview with a spokesperson, please contact: Bill ChalupiakCUPE Communications Representativewchalupiak@ 416-707-1401 Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Hamilton Spectator
04-06-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
‘Watershed moment': Provincial unions are coming together to support northern First Nations protesting Bill 5
As Ontario is expected to pass its controversial Bill 5 through its third and final reading on Wednesday, representatives of organized labour say their fight is only beginning. Members of the Ontario Federation of Labour intend to fill the gallery at 1:30 when the government is expected to pass the Protect Ontario By Unleashing Our Economy Act , a proposal First Nations leaders say will trample their treaty rights to free, prior, and informed consent on major project development. 'I think this is a watershed moment where people will recognize who is fighting for workers and Indigenous peoples: it was us. We are the heroes we've been waiting for,' says OFL president Laura Walton. 'And it's time we actually embrace that and connect with our power and move forward and we can do this – every single one of us.' As members of five more northern First Nations fly to Toronto to rally for Premier Doug Ford to withdraw the bill, Walton is calling for a broad movement to oppose the bill's implementation, including united labour, that will be led by First Nations. Bill 5, the Protect Ontario By Unleashing Our Economy Act, would introduce 'special economic zones,' inside of which the province can exempt certain 'trusted' developers from environmental and labour laws while overriding any municipal bylaws. Ford has committed to making mining development in the Ring of Fire deposit into the first such zone , despite insistence from First Nations in the area that commitments to proper consultation and restoring basic infrastructure be a precursor to discussions. Walton says the OFL stands with First Nations who demonstrated at Queen's Park on Monday and she sees common ground in the struggle to come. She worries this bill could erase workplace occupational health and safety, regulations in the Skilled Trades Act, and provisions for injured workers under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board .The Progressive Conservative majority government has moved this bill so quickly through the legislative process that the labour movement has been caught off guard. Walton says even developers with whom she has met are unaware of its sweeping power, and that broad worker education and mobilization efforts will be necessary to confront the two-tiered environment for labour laws the bill will introduce. 'This government only reacts to intense and continuous pressure,' she says. 'All of us want development. No one is here to say 'we don't want to be developed, we don't want to be economically prosperous.' Nobody is saying that. What we're saying is, 'you don't have to supersede treaty rights in order to achieve that. You don't have to strip away the rights of workers to achieve that.' 'This is simply a power grab, and you're rushing it through because you know damn well it's a power grab and we're going to be on the other side of it as well.' Representatives of 290,000 Ontario public sector workers voted unanimously to call on the government to scrap the bill at the Canadian Union of Public Employees' annual general meeting in May. Their resolution commits to educate and to mobilize to form, 'the broadest possible coalition to demand the immediate and full withdrawal of this dangerous legislation.' CUPE Ontario president Fred Hahn says that before coming to the AGM, the vast majority of his local representatives had never heard of Bill 5. He describes it as 'a fundamental shift in the way we govern in our country' that gives the Premier's office 'unlimited executive power,' pointing out the speed of its passage adds to the shock and confusion the public is experiencing around its implications. 'The government wants us to believe that once they pass a bill, that's the end – it's not,' Hahn says. 'We can monitor what they do, we can resist what they do, we can overturn legislation. There can be court challenges to overturn it. These things have happened in recent history in our province.' Hahn foresees a broad movement forming to confront the implementation of the legislation in which workers will join First Nations out of mutual interest and solidarity. 'It's enormously important that labour and Indigenous leaders are starting to come together. We need to keep going because legislation like this should not stay on the books, period. It's a long game so sure, they have a majority and they can ram through legislation that's fundamentally undemocratic. That's not the end, it is the beginning.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
