WSIB job cuts have caused a crisis for injured workers, union says

Positions cut at the WSIB

500 positions or more

Ontario's Workplace Safety and Insurance Board closed 10 locations and cut more than 500 positions two months ago. Half of the closed sites were in northern Ontario.

Injured workers now wait two to three hours on the phone lines, said Harry Goslin, president of the Ontario Compensation Employees Union. He says unassigned claims have increased 15-fold.

NDP MPPs Jamie West and Lise Vaugeois have asked Ontario's auditor general to audit the restructuring. They say staff in southern Ontario do not know the conditions of work in the north.

The WSIB's answer

The WSIB says local teams still provide in-person support in Sudbury and across northern Ontario. It says the restructuring gives value to businesses, whose premiums have fallen by 50 per cent in 10 years.