Injured Workers Rally at Queen’s Park: “It is workers’ compensation, not employers’ compensation”

The fight for injured workers’ rights in Ontario continues. Last week, hundreds of injured workers and advocates descended on Queen’s Park to raise awareness of their issues and to demand better compensation for survivors of workplace accidents.

In the wake of WSIB’s announcement that it is reducing employer premiums (to the tune of $2 billion through a 45% reduction), injured workers held an overnight vigil followed by a rally and march on June 1st,which is Injured Workers Day in Ontario.

See some of the brave folks who stood up for their rights and the compensation they are entitled to in this video of the rally:

Rally attendees hoped to draw attention to the fact that benefits have not kept up with inflation, and that millions of workers are left without accident benefits because some industries are exempt from paying workplace accident insurance.

According to the Toronto Star, Labour Minister Kevin Flynn told the crowds that “the government was ‘a few months away’ from providing a system of fully indexed compensation to all workers”.

We can only hope that the government follows through on that promise. After all, as one of the rally speakers reminds us, “It is workers’ compensation, not employers’ compensation.”