Toronto/CMEDIA: 466 jobs across the province of Ontario reportedly are being slashed by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB).
The organization said in a statement Thursday that it has made a “difficult business decision to consolidate” the roles of some back-office staff in claims and account management who work remotely.
“We recognize this is difficult news for impacted team members and their families,” the WSIB said in the statement.
“We will treat everyone fairly and with respect in recognition of the valuable role they have played on our team. That includes opportunities to relocate, access to resumé writing, job seeking services and a continuation of benefits including unlimited mental health support during this transition.”
Affected employees being in Sudbury, Windsor, Thunder Bay, St. Catharines, Guelph, Sault Ste. Marie, Kingston, North Bay and Timmins, WSIB added that actual job losses may be less than 466 as people are offered opportunities to relocate.
The Ontario Compensation Employees Union, an arm of Canadian Union of Public Employees, said it has also been informed that another 155 jobs will be cut in Waterloo in about a year.
“I’ve been dealing with this for a few days now, where we have been trying to negotiate some mitigation with the WSIB,” said president Harry Goslin.
“Every day is like a gut punch,” said Harry Goslin, president of the Ontario Compensation Employees Union
The WSIB said there will still be local teams in those regions providing in-person support for people returning to work, but Goslin said the loss of staff will result in delays in service for people injured on the job.
“People will be waiting longer to get a return call,” he said.
“They’ll wait longer to get a decision. They’ll wait longer to get their health-care costs reimbursed, to get access to the health-care services they need, and the referrals to the return-to-work services that they rely on to get back to work.”
