November 8, 2012 (New Glasgow, NS) Injured worker and labour representatives will conduct a protest at the Nova Scotia Legislature, 1726 Hollis Street, Halifax, NS at 12 noon on Tuesday November 13, 2012 to highlight the poverty faced by those injured in Nova Scotia workplaces and the need for the Government of Nova Scotia to take immediate action to correct the injustices of the workers’ compensation system.
“The workers’ compensation system in Nova Scotia has lost its way.” says Mary Lloyd, President of Pictou County Injured Workers Association. “ Employers continue to receive protection from civil liability for deaths and injuries occurring in their work places but workers are living in enforced poverty due to the penalty driven provisions of the Workers’ Compensation Act.”
A Royal Commission of Inquiry is the best method of investigating and identifying the problems that are plaguing the system. Lloyd cites the funding of employers by the Workers’ Compensation Board’s (WCB) Board of Directors to fight workers in appeals, the downloading of legitimate claims costs onto the public system, and the failure of the WCB to be a neutral third party administrator as examples of the deterioration of the founding principles of the workers’ compensation system.
The Government of Nova Scotia should immediately implement the full cost of living indexing of benefits and the appointment of a Royal Commission. “This action” says Lloyd “will send a clear message to the citizens of Nova Scotia that the NDP Government supports the fair treatment of injured workers and that the founding principles of the system are revered in our society.”
Injured workers and labour representatives invite all Nova Scotians who believe in a fair and unbiased workers compensation system to attend the November 13, 2012 event.
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