WSIB management refuses union offer for independent mediation to prevent a strike

After filing a surprise no-board on April 29, after only two days at the table since receiving a mandate to enter negotiations with the union on April 17, it was clear that the employer was setting up the conditions to force the members of OCEU/CUPE 1750 into a strike. This forced the union to hold a strike vote on May 1, receiving a 96% mandate in favour of strike action.

Before the union was able to hold it’s strike vote, the employer has already begun training management staff to do bargaining unit work, sending a clear message that they were not prepared to negotiate in good faith.

The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, WSIB, is not a taxpayer funded organization; it is an employer-funded benefit meant to augment workers compensation when Ontario workers get injured on the job. Just this year, they generated a $4-billion return to those employers.

Every day, skilled and dedicated workers at WSIB make sure more than 5.3 million workers across 325,000 workplaces can access their benefits, that their families get the support they need when an injury or illness occurs.

“It’s clear to us that they are dragging their feet,” said Nicole Francis, Chief Steward for OCEU. “Only two bargaining days after getting their mandate, the WSIB management filed a surprise no-board while good-faith bargaining proposals were still on the table.”

“This is a failure to negotiate, plain and simple,” said Harry Goslin, President of OCEU. “The parties haven’t even spoken about wages. The employer hasn’t reduced the number of issues on the table. We are still trying to address the serious workload issues that are affecting the health and wellbeing of our members.”

Caseloads and micromanagement are at unsustainable levels driving up anxiety and depression among WSIB workers well above the national average.

Management is in the position to terminate the collective agreement for members of OCEU/CUPE 1750 as early as May 16 if a deal cannot be reached.

In response, Goslin said, “the union has proposed independent mediation using the same mediator that worked with the provincial government and education workers. It is shocking that WSIB, an agency of the government refused.”