CUPE 1750 members on the picket lines in Thunder Bay - (CJ Goater/Acadia Broadcasting)
Collective bargaining between the Workplace Safety Insurance Board and the union representing many of their employees has yet to reach a resolution.
OCEU/CUPE 1750 members initiated legal job action on Wednesday after talks stalled at the bargaining table ahead of the midnight deadline.
The key issues on the table are workload and bringing pay back on par with inflation after the impacts of the pandemic and Bill C-124 (which capped public sector salary increases).
The union announced on Monday that they will remain on the picket lines for the day.
“The WSIB management has said they view our members’ legal job action on Wednesday as a strike and have locked our members out of the computer systems and sent workers home,” said Union President Harry Goslin. “Our intention has been to conduct rolling strikes to limit the impact on injured workers in Ontario, but it seems management has other ideas.”
According to the union, there have also been unconfirmed reports that the WSIB has contracted an unknown telephone service to fill the role of the striking workers.
The union says it strongly condemns all strike-breaking tactics, including threatening our members with disciplinary action and hiring scab labour.
“Our members are sick of the bullying tactics,” said Chief Steward Nicole Francis. “Many of our members have received warning letters from the employer threatening discipline for being involved in legal strike action that is protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Now we are hearing reports that the WSIB may be hiring scabs to do our work. It’s shameful.”
The union issued a cease-and-desist letter to the WSIB over the weekend in response to the threatening letters sent to its members.
The union says they remain prepared to bargain when the WSIB is ready to take the members’ priorities seriously.
Meanwhile, the WSIB continues to provide service amid the bargaining impasse.
“When someone is injured at work, they need to know that the WSIB is here to help, and we are,” said President and CEO of the WSIB Jeff Lang. “Since the strike began, we have continued to help people recover and return to work because that’s job one for all of us.”
Telephone support is still available from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday to Friday, though wait times are likely to be higher than usual.
Response times for non-urgent inquiries and services are also expected to be impacted.
Updates to services will be available on the WSIB’s website.
