| JANUARY, 1978 Editor’s note: The following letter is in reply to a short article in a recent issue of the Lumber Worker which reported that the Regional Council was going to demand that the cost of medical certificates required by Crown Life and other insur- ance companies as well as the Workers’ Compensation Board, must be borne by these agencies. THE EDITOR: A copy of the October- November 1977 issue of The Western Canadian ‘Lumber Worker has come to my atten- tion and I note in it on page 7 a reference to the fact that some THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER an er STE TE TAT ST TE EI I TE EE ELE LEE ILLITE of your members are forced to pay the costs of certificates which are obtained from doctors for the purposes of life insurance or the Workers’ Compensation Board. I have no comment to make with respect to the life insur- ance companies, but I would like to comment on the matter with respect to the Workers’ Compensation Board and to suggest to you, and by copy of this letter to other members of the union movement in British Columbia, that it is not neces- sary for workers to pay for medical certificates for mat- ters relating to compensation, nor should they do so. MEDICAL FEES The Workers’ Compensation Board has an agreement with the British Columbia Medical Association with respect to medical fees. This agreement in general states that the Board will pay for examina- tions, treatment and related services the same fees, item by item, as are paid by the Medical Services Commission, including such charges as may be made in the fees payable by the Medical Services Commis- sion together with an addition- al 1% of the scheduled rates (this 1% recognizes that the Board does not contribute to TELEPHONE CALLS the education and disability fund of the BCMA). In addition, by Board Minutes of March 1st, 1977, the Board agreed to pay to phy- sicians submitting a Form 8, the sum of $8.10; for a written report that requires a review and extraction from medical records but excludes examina- tion the sum of $16.20; for photostatic copy of existing medical report, $5.40; for in- formation about a patient whose claim is later disallowed and for Form 11, $5.40; and by standard report by letter, $12.40. The Board has also recogn- ized that compensation cases involve some additional time for reports and telephone calls beyond what is needed in other eases. To compensate for this, the Board pays an additional 8% of every fee item for treat- ment, etc. mentioned above. This 8% covers the Forms 11, A, the operative reports, hos- pital summaries, emergency and short-stay hospital admis- sion forms and similar reports relating to current matters. I think you will see from this that the Board has made ade- quate arrangements for the payment of both medical care and the reporting of such to the Board and there is no need for workers to be indebted for any of this information. If members of your union are finding that they are being charged in this respect, it would be appreciated if they would communicate this mat- ter either to D. Hugh Stans- field, Secretary of the WCB Liaison Committee of the British Columbia Medical As- sociation, whose address is 1807. West 10th Avenue, Van- couver, B.C, or to Dr. John Dick, Medical Director of the Workers’ Compensation Board. The fees which have been mentioned above are presently under negotiation and may change, but the principle that the worker is not responsible for them will be maintained. Yours sincerely, Adam §. Little, M.D. Chairman MAX SALTER’S REPLY Dr. A. S. Little, Chairman Workers’ Compensation Board 5255 Heather Street, Vancouver, B.C, Dear Dr. Little: Re: Medical Certificate Fees Your letter of November 14, response on the matter, and particularly appreciate the in- formation therein. We of course were not aware of the March ist Board Min- utes, since we are not supplied with copies of these decisions. One additional factor is that the fee arrangements between doctors and the WCB, are in poe ges to certificates, reports, and examination records, and up to now we have been unable to convince the Board to provide copies of pertinent in- formation, such as a report of medical findings directly in- volved in respect to occupa- tional injury and health claims, to the claimant or his ir agent on written request. Therefore when the claim fails and appeals are being considered, it is necessary to obtain the information directly from the doctor involved. In many cases where the medical people are so busy, they feel entitled to a fee for a medical certificate provided directly to the claimant, since it means time lost from attending patients. If the Board could see fit to compensate for the fees in- volved in the appeal process, it would likely be the simplest answer. This could be an allowable expense to the claimant, in cases where the appeal suc- ceeded in a decision favourable to the claim. In conclusion, we do appre- ciate your comments and advice, and thank you for taking the time to communi- cate with us. Respectfully, M. M. Salter Director Safety and Health UNIONS BEST FOR WOMEN Grace Hartman, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, says trade union- ism provides the best vehicle through which women can achieve equality. Hartman, who heads Canada’s largest union, told a recent meeting of the Organ- ized Working Women that the gains unionists have won through collective bargaining are eventually accepted as standards by society as a whole. ; ‘“‘Not until women are free to join the union of their choice will we be liberated,’’ Hartman said. ‘Unions are the best vehicle we have to gain equality. Once we have economic equality, the rest of the problems will be easier to overcome.” ee ee ee ee) SAFETY EDUCATION NEEDED Inadequate legislation con- cerning occupational safety was the major topic discussed by the 350 delegates who at- tended the 10th biennial Health and Safety Conference of the Canadian Labour Congress, Nov. 14-17. In his opening address CLC Executive vice-president Julien Major noted that the International Labour Organia- tion has published safe ex- posure levels for some 1,200 toxic substance. With ‘600,000 chemicals in daily use’, he called for preventive legisla- tion. Public education on occupa- tional health legislation should be mandatory, Major said. ‘‘So that workers in unorganized companies may be aware of their occupational health rights, the enabling legislation should require public educa- tion programs, similar to that on human rights in employ- ment.” W MEMBERS TAKE NOTE According to a report on the research prepared for publication in the September issue of The Labour Gazette, full-time union representatives and business agents work an average 55 to 60 hours a week. And in their work they have to practise a wide range of skills — from organizing the unorganized, handling strikes to giving personal advice on financial and sexual problems. By ED LAVELLE Co-ordinator of the Labour Studies Program, Capilano College The Labour Studies Program of Capilano College is one of the first of its kind in British Columbia. It has the advantage of being part of a community college. Community Colleges were started with the express purpose of providing post- secondary educational oppor- tunities to groups within the community who were not previously served such as women, minorities and working people. It also has a faculty who are committed to the trade union movement. They demonstrated some of that commitment by being among the most active in the formation of their own faculty union. The Program is committed to meet the educational needs of B.C. workers, their organizations and the. labour movement in general. The objective has been to provide both instruction and facilities. Among the facilities that are available at the college are a media department which will assist groups or individuals in the creation of audio visual or graphic productions for educa- tional pruposes. The Program has operated on the assumption that program content should generally be consistent with the broad aims and objectives of the B.C. Federation of Labour. It is assisted in the development of courses by an advisory committee provided by the Federation. It has always been a principle of the program that it should supple- ment internal trade union education, not duplicate it. The only exceptions to this have been requests by the advisory committee or individual unions. : The Program’s courses vary in length from three hour single sessions to courses which are up to eight weeks in duration. Courses have been held on weekday evenings and on weekends during the day. Courses have included labour law, workers compensation act, occupational health and safety, trade union history and labour economics. The aim has ‘been to try and provide for- mats which meet the needs of working people. At first all courses were held at Capilano College. However, because of the relative in- accessability of the college, most courses are now given at union halls or other public facilities closer to where the majority of workers live and work. The Program has received requests to hold its courses outside the lower mainland and can do so on a cost recovery basis. The. BCGEU for example has sponsored several courses on Vancouver Island. Instructors have been drawn from three sources: faculty currently on staff at the College, persons engaged in labour-related professions, and active trade unionists and B.C. Federation of Labour per- sonnel. As well, trade unionists and B.C. Fed representatives have participated as resource persons in several seminars presented by the Program. Students have come into the program from two sources. The earliest pattern was enrollment by individually motivated students who became aware of the Program through promotional efforts. Increasingly, however, students are being sent by their unions. In the Fall of 1977, 90% of the program’s students were sponsored. Sometimes a union will actually sponsor a course and ensure its enrollment such as the BCGEU and OCAW have done in the past. With the acquisition of some Canada Labour funding, the Labour Studies Program at Capilano is looking forward to being able to provide more and better service to the trade -union movement. The executive board of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, of which the Canadian Labour Congress is a member, has called for an international campaign against apartheid beginning in March, The union campaign, which coincides with the United Nations’ International Year Against Apartheid, is aimed primarily at putting pressure on companies with invest- ments in South Africa to treat black and white workers equally and to enter into genuine collective agreements with black trade unions. LIGHTER SIDE Chokerman Charlie says that a bridegroom is a guy who began by handing out a line but ended by walking it.