Vancouver - Today’s announcement by Labour Minister Harry Bains of increased funding for the WCB Workers’ Advisors Office is a small but positive step to do more to help injured workers navigate the WCB’s complex injury claims system, says the BC Federation of Labour.
“It’s a step in the right direction to level the playing field for injured workers,” says BCFED President Irene Lanzinger.
Bains says an additional $3 million a year will be shared between the Workers’ Advisors Office and a similar office for employers. The Worker’s Advisors Office provides independent advice and advocacy for vulnerable injured workers whose claims for compensation have been rebuffed by the WCB at the first step in the process.
Lanzinger says the BCFED will continue to advocate for a series of measures to make BC’s workplaces safer to reduce the number of workers killed or injured on the job, including:
- Improved workplace safety laws and a greater emphasis on prevention initiatives;
- More stringent enforcement of safety rules;
- Tougher penalties and more accountability for negligent employers; and
- Improved benefits for injured workers and the surviving dependents of killed workers.