We need a Worker-Centred WCB

In October 2019, the BC government received recommendations for badly-needed changes at the Workers’ Compensation Board.  Injured workers have been waiting for more than two years for action.

Don’t make them wait any longer.  I’m calling on you and your government to act now to support injured workers and their families, and create a genuinely worker-centered WCB. Please implement the changes recommended by the Patterson Report as soon as possible, including: 

  1. Amend the Workers Compensation Act to: 
    • create a Fair Practices Commission independent of the WCB to deal with individual and systemic complaints and to implement solutions; 
    • remove binding policy provisions and allow decisions to be made on the merits and justice of the case. Ensure workers are treated as individuals, with dignity and respect; 
    • ensure an equal balance of worker and employer representatives on the WCB Board of Directors; 
    • mandate vocational rehabilitation to get workers back to real and sustainable jobs; and 
    • end discriminatory barriers to compensation for psychological injury and chronic pain. 
  2. Pay interest to workers when the WCB wrongly denies a worker benefits and they must endure a lengthy delay. 
  3. Ensure the WCB implements the changes laid out in the Patterson Report to create a worker-centred approach that puts the recovery and safety of injured workers at the forefront of the compensation system.  

Will you sign?