Ontario Construction News staff writer
After weeks of intensive bargaining, including negotiations over the long weekend, the union representing more than 3,600 workers at the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board says talks with the employer have stalled on key issues tied to workload and employee wellbeing.
The bargaining team for the Ontario Compensation Employees Union, CUPE Local 1750 (OCEU/CUPE 1750), says the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board has refused to commit to measures that would reduce what the union describes as โdangerously high workloads,โ which it links to rising rates of depression and anxiety among its members.
โOur members need the employer to work with us to reduce these workloads,โ said union president Harry Goslin in a statement. โWe came to the table ready to work through these issues and get a deal, but instead we learn the shocking truth that employee health and safety is not a priority.โ
The union argues that while the WSIB has issued $4 billion in rebates to employers this year, it has not allocated any of its surplus funds to improve internal working conditions or to expand coverage to the 1.56 million Ontario workers who are currently not covered by WSIB.
Despite an agreement to extend bargaining through May 21, the parties remain deadlocked.
OCEU/CUPE 1750 members voted 96 per cent in favour of strike action on May 1. While no strike date has been set, union leaders are warning that a labour disruption โ which would be the first in the history of WSIB employees โ is increasingly likely.
โThe WSIB employees have never had a labour disruption, but the current senior management team seems determined to change that,โ said Nicole Francis, chief steward for the union.
The WSIB has not yet issued a public response to the unionโs statements.