e Stan Cameron, Chairman of the WCB of Saskatchewan informed the delegates
of the government's attempts to reform and improve the system.

Saskatchewan WCE resists push
to reduce benefits to workers

Workers’ Compensation Boards all
over the country are faced with pres-
sures from employer associations
who are driving them to lower bene-
fits for injured workers. Fortunately,
in the province of Saskatchewan, the
WCB is hanging tough and is sticking
to its principles of assisting working
people in need.

At this year’s National Safety Confer-
ence, keynote speaker Stan Cameron,
Chairman of the Saskatchewan WCB,
gave I.W.A. members an oversight of

- what is happening in his province.

Since Cameron’s appointment to the
Board in 1993, there has been a shake-
up at the WCB and some reforms put
in place to streamline the system. All
of this has taken place at a time when
some employer associations are lobby-

ing government to cut benefits and re-
duce services available.

Employer premiums have not kept
pace with the funding needed to pay
out benefits in Saskatchewan and the
heat is on. The Board has begun to dip
into a reserve fund to pay out those

increasing benefits.
Mr. Cameron said that for the sec-

Duty to accommodate

Continued from previous page

man Rights declared that no people
should suffer discrimination based on
gender, race, religion or disability.

In the 1950’s and 60's human rights
legislation in Canada reflected this in
every jurisdiction in the country. Weir
said that human rights legislation is
“quasi-constitutional” in nature and
that when it comes to legal interpreta-
tion, “human rights will rules...any-
thing you put into collective agree-
ments is void.”

Dave Miller told the workshop that
at one time some collective agree-
ments actually had provisions to al-
low employers not to continue to have
disabled workers.

“Even today, disabled workers are
not recognized as having the same
work as others,” said Miller.

He added that it wasn’t that long
ago that unions didn’t think they had
responsibility to accomodate the dis-
abled.

“By having the duty to accomodate
in our workplaces, we are educating
the public,” he said.

Brother Weir said that the duty to
accomodate in an evolving concept of

ond consecutive year ending in 1995,
the WCB drew down its Injury Fund.
In a 24 month period the fund has
gone from reserves of over $21 million
to just under $7 million, at a time
when employer associations are
putting on more pressure.

“So I say to you, be alert,” said
Cameron. “There are sectors in the
business community who drive us to
reduce benefits, to utilize the (injury)
Fund, to drive down these surpluses
so that they can tear down the origi-
nal concept of workers’ compensa-
tion...such as we see happening in
some other jurisdictions in Canada.”

He said that last fall the
Saskatchewan WCB proposed in-
creasing employer assessments for
1996 because costs were exceeding
revenue and the Board was trying to
help maintain its status as one of the
few fully funded WCB's in Canada.

He said that some employer groups
have resisted and “have used the news
media to distort the position of the
Board.”

“Employer associations in the
province have the ear of government

which unions have seen more of dur-
ing the last five years and that rela-
tively recent rulings have put the onus
on employers to make all reasonable
efforts to accomodate the employees
affected. He added that accomodation
must take place unless there is no
“gndue hardship’ on employers and
the there is actually no clear defini-
tion of “due hardship.”

He noted that the disruption of col-
lective agreements do not necessarily
cause “undue hardship” as long as the
measures to do so are done in a way
that will disrupt the employer-union
agreement as little as is possible.

Unions themselves are obligated to
accomodate when they have joined to
set policies or practices on the dis-
abled and when the employer ask for
cooperation on accomodating mea-
sures.

Trade unions may become legally li-
able if they are found to have partici-
pated in establishing discriminating
measures or if they refuse to cooper-
ate with the company in the set up of
a duty to acommodate program.

The delegates in attendance broke

into four workshop groups to analyze
various back to work scenarios and
how various operations could acco-
modate individuals.

and they know how to lobby that gov-
ernment,” said Cameron.

However he did say that forest in-
dustry association employers support
the benefits program and are not part
of that lobby. He said that he is also
convinced that, following recent dis-
cussions with the industry, that there
is an increased commitment to safety.

“I know that many of you are aware
that some WCB’s have cut benefits. It
appears that Ontario will be next with
benefit cutbacks that are estimated to
cost workers there to the tune of $15
billion over the next seven years,” he
said.

Cameron drew attention to the On-
tario government's proposed scheme
where employers would pay direct
benefits to injured workers for the
first six weeks of their claims.

“No one who has a stake in Work-
ers’ Compensation should take this
lightly,” said the speaker, “not work-
ers and not employers.”

He then said that if employers are
allowed to go ahead with direct pay-
ment of benefits for the first 6 weeks
of the claim (most claims last less
than 6 weeks) that they will be free to
seek private insurance carriers.

That is one way privatization will
creep into WCB activities. The admin-
istration of benefits could go to com-
pany personnel or private carriers.

Cameron said that compensation
benefits “have consistently improved
over the years in Saskatchewan, with
the increases protecting the injured
worker against inflation.”

“We went from small, pre-deter-
mined payments for various types of in-
juries to a compensation system based
on replacing a substantial amount of an
injured worker’s actual lost wages.
Equally important, the definition of ‘in-
jury’ in comprehensive. It covers any
disability related to one’s work.”

Cameron pointed out that, in
Saskatchewan, WCB benefits cover
other needs such as an injured work-
er’s family and the children’s educa-
tion in addition to covering pension
needs if the worker has no workplace
pension or because they have been off
of work because of a workplace-relat-
ed injury for 24 months.

Ten years ago the Saskatchewan
WCB began calculating net benefits
on the basis of 90% of net wages
rather than 75% of gross earnings.

In 1993, when Cameron was hired
on, along with labour appointee Wes
Norheim and employer appointee
Norm Brown, the WCB looked at over
100 recommendations from the 1992
Committee of Review which gave di-
rection from amendments to the Com-
pensation Act in the province.

A facilitator was brought in to assist
the Board’s staff in doing an internal

study on administration and a report
‘was made to increase efficiencies.

Administration of claims manage-
ment was changed so that injured
workers would get better and more
personal service.

Cameron said that 3 years ago an
average claimant used to wait 68 days
for his/her WCB cheque. Today most
recipients are paid in a 1 - 2 week pe-
riod.

The appeals system has also been
straightened out. When Cameron took
over there were appeals that took up
to 13 months to hear. Today the first
level of appeal usually takes from 30-
45 days. The second level of appeal,
directed through the Board, takes 45-
60 days. The claims backlog has now
been eliminated.

Workers in the province now have
access to specialized rehab clinics in
Saskatoon in addition to Regina.

Cameron said that if compensation
costs increase, three different things

Sector of the business
community are
trying to tear down
the original concept
of the WCB

may happen. There could be higher
employer rate assessments, a greater
use of WCB reserve funds could be
used, or there could be an increase in
lobbying by industry associations to
reduce benefits.

He said that, in the fall of 1995, the
WCB proposed that employer assess-
ments be increased. As part of that in-
crease a large overdue rate adjust-
ment was made at the MacMillan
Bloedel waferboard plant where the
employer was paying 75 cents per
every $100 of earnings. Now it pays
over $4.00 per $100, which reflects
that injury costs have risen over the
past 36 months.

Cameron said that preventing work-
place injury is essential to keeping
compensation costs under control.

He said that he is optimistic that the
newly formed Saskatchewan Forest
Industry Safety Association can assist
in bringing down the accident rate
and that the Board is encouraged that
there is a union nominee on it.

A Committee of Review studied the
WCB, as it does every four years, and
took submissions until the end of
July.

© One of the workshops offered during the conference was on introductory
health and safety, conducted by National Staff Representative Tom Lowe, left.

LUMBERWORKER/SEPTEMBER 1996/7