Read the MGEU Submission to the WCB on Extension of Coverage
May 02, 2008
The MGEU recently submitted a brief to the Workers Compensation Board (WCB) as part of a consultation process concerning the extension of coverage.
Manitoba’s worker compensation system was designed to pay all workers for medical expenses and wages lost due to an injury, illness or death while at work. Unfortunately not all workers in Manitoba are covered by the Workers Compensation Act.
When The Act was originally drafted, only workplaces identified in it would be required to participate in the plan. Later, some allowance was made for other occupations and employers to participate on a voluntary basis, and these were granted the same immunity from being sued for wage loss and benefits as the others.
The variety and scope of workplace injury has evolved greatly since The Act was first adopted in 1917. Today, many occupations exist that have evolved over the last 20 years due to changes in computer, communication and other technology. These advances have resulted in new workplace hazards.
Many of the workers employed in these newer industries lack protection for wages lost to a workplace injury. Currently, about 25-30 percent of Manitoba’s workers, including some MGEU members, have no income protection through the WCB.
In 2006, the Government of Manitoba consulted with Manitobans on the WCB’s first-ever expansion of coverage to other industries similar to those already covered. The resulting changes in 2007 brought a limited number of occupations rightfully under the coverage of the WCB. Workers who held jobs such as outdoor window washers, air transportation, testing laboratories, mushroom plants, taxidermy, landscaping, property management, surveying and exploration finally came to be covered.
While this was an admirable first step, it didn’t go far enough. All workers should be covered, not just 70 percent, or so (which happens to be a much lower level of coverage than most Canadian provinces). At least five other provinces provide WCB coverage for at least 90 percent of the workforce.
Extending coverage would also create a level playing field for employers. It would reduce competitive disadvantages between covered and non-covered employers who compete against each other and the costs associated with preventing, treating and compensating workplace injuries would be spread across a larger pool of employers.
With this many compelling reasons to expand coverage, it’s hard to believe that Manitoba didn’t address this issue years ago.
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