When workers compensation
systems fail to adequately compensate an injured worker, the care of that
injured worker is downloaded onto society at large through tax-based social
programs. WCBs are paid for by corporations, not by taxes, so that it is only when WCB denies a claim that the costs are downloaded onto taxpayers. This is what has been referred to as the "Collateral Damage" that
WCBs inflict upon society by failing to live up to their mandate.
Here are some of the costs to society that WCBs
cause:
Our health care system covers costs for surgery and
treatments for injured workers when their cases are closed or denied by
Worker's Compensation boards. Even if an injured worker appeals and has their
claim re-opened the health care system in their province does not go back and
retroactively charge these medical costs back to the worker's compensation
board. As appeals often take years, it benefits worker's compensations boards
to postpone re-opening a claim or to delay and deny claims.
Studies show differing
estimates of the downloading of costs by WCBs onto the health care
system: - "(54%) of work-related
injuries were inappropriately billed to the public health care system and
not to workers' compensation boards." - The consequences of underreporting
workers' compensation claims
Our Canada Pension
Plan is forced to pay disabilty benefits to those who should be
covered by the workers compenstion program and, in some provinces, the CPP even
subsidizes WCB payments when injured workers are forced to apply for CPP
Disability benefits and these payments are then deducted from their workers
compensation payments.
Darrell Powell (witness) -
"In 2000, the Campbell government eviscerated the WCB
and brought about some pretty drastic changes to the act, and one of them was
the reclaiming of CPP benefits from injured workers' disability benefits. To
put it in its worst context, if you get $600 from CPP disability until you are
age 65, and you are getting $300 from the compensation board, they take half of
your CPP, so in a sense, they are not paying for your compensation at all. It
is CPP.
Senator Kirby (Chair) - "The second issue that Darrell raised is one that has troubled
me for a long time with respect to social programs in general, which is the
tendency of a provincial government to claw back money that the federal
government contributes."
Other income
assistance programs, such as welfare bear the burden of injured workers who are
not compensated through the workers compensation system.
In addition
our other social programs are burdened by the failures of the workers
compensation system:
- higher amounts in Child Tax Benefits
- higher amounts in
GST Rebate cheques
- families
pay less tax as a working spouse claims the
injured spouse as a dependent
- families pay less tax as
injured workers who cover their own medical expenses may then deduct them from
any income that they or their spouse may have
- higher payments to
families for childcare subsidization/daycare
assistance
- more individuals taking advanatge of programs
through Canada Mortgage and Housing for
things like wheelchair ramps, and other housing assistance.
- more
money can be given to the children of injured workers in RESP credits because of the lower tax bracket.
(Unfortunately many families don't have the money to put into this
program.)
There are many other government programs that share this
burden, as well as food banks and other public sector
programs that are forced to support injured workers when the
compensation system fails.
Then consider the
long term cost to the economy of a family who is forced into
poverty. It is not just that the family now buys fewer goods and services.
Their children also suffer with decreased opportunities for education. A poor
family usually utilizes the health care system more often because of poor
nutrition, etc.
The cycle of poverty is multi-generational and the costs to
society are ongoing and cumulative.
"Of all the agencies that I get complaints on from my
constituents, the most complex files all belong to WCB. This tops the
list. Changes to this act must be made for the workers to get the
protection and the justice they so deserve." K. Stewart - BC Hansard
"The entire WCB system and organization needs to be drastically
overhauled." Ray Martin - NDP
MP
HANSARDS: The CIWS is
compiling a list of Hansard documents to monitor politicians' responses ( or
lack thereof ) to workers compensation issues. List will be posted when up to
date. (also see "Commission and Reports")
Failing the
Homeless:
A Report on the Barriers in
the Ontario Disability Support Program for Homeless People with Disabilities by
Streethealth at: http://www.streethealth.ca/
. . . All project participants eventually became homeless
because they could not secure an adequate income through the following public
programs:
7.2 Failure of Workers Safety and Insurance Board
(WSIB) . . . Workplace injuries played a role in becoming
disabled for 57% of participants who worked and 46% had received worker’s
compensation benefits at some time. However, none of the study
participants who had WSIB benefits were able to maintain ongoing
benefits.
. . . WSIB
did not help to ensure that participants had another adequate source of income
before cutting off their WSIB benefits.
