Download the letter from Chris Buckley here.
Download the OFL’s Workers’ Compensation Lobby Kit here.
Download the Package for Allies here.
At the OFL convention in November, delegates voted unanimously to endorse the Ontario Network of Injured Workers’ Groups (ONIWG) Workers’ Comp is a Right campaign. It’s a province-wide campaign, with participating injured worker groups from across Ontario organizing in their own communities, to make their voices heard. And they need our help!
The same austerity measures that threaten our public services and social programs are also having a devastating effect in the workers’ compensation system. For the past number of years, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) has been focused on reducing its unfunded liability by instituting cost cutting measures, and it has primarily done so by cutting benefits to injured workers – forcing them onto ODSP or Ontario Works.
Between 2009 and 2015, the WSIB cut injured worker benefits by roughly $1.16 billion. Ironically, those who need the most support are the ones who have been hurt the worst by these cuts, as close to 50% of people with a permanent disability resulting from their work injury are living at or near the poverty line.
The campaign has three specific demands, which are focused on reversing some of the WSIB’s primary ways of cutting compensation and forcing injured workers into poverty.
The three demands are:
1. No more phantom jobs!
2. Listen to injured workers’ treating healthcare professionals!
3. No cuts based on “pre-existing conditions”!
For more information about the campaign click here.
As you know we are fighting against powerful interests. We are asking you assist the injured worker community by adding your voice to this call to action by lobbying your local MPP. A lobby kit with effective lobby tips is included in this package, along with a complete package of materials from the Ontario Network of Injured Worker Groups. The package contains a directory of injured worker groups across the province, an explanation of campaign demands and fact sheets.
Please encourage your activists to reach out to the injured worker group in your area and assist them with the lobby during Constituency week April 3-6, 2018. If you have any questions, please contact Laurie Hardwick at lhardwick@ofl-org.flywheelsites.com or 416-443-7657.
