OCEU also concerned about WSIB caseloads and staff being asked to “do more with less”
The Ontario government announced this week it will introduce legislation to extend mandatory WSIB coverage to an estimated 29,000 additional health-care and support workers in privately operated retirement homes, group homes and other residential care facilities. The change is meant to align protections for those workers with colleagues in publicly operated settings and “close long‑standing gaps”, according to Labour Minister David Piccini, who noted front-line care workers “deserve to know they will be protected if something goes wrong on the job.”
WSIB expansion called a ‘half measure’
Unions representing affected workers say the announcement is welcome, but far from sufficient. In a statement, Fred Hahn, president of CUPE Ontario, called the move “a half measure,” arguing that “over 1.5 million Ontario workers — child care workers among them – are being told their safety isn't a priority” under the current approach, which still leaves large segments of the workforce outside mandatory WSIB coverage.
Hahn said that without a legal requirement, many employers will continue to opt out of WSIB, and urged the province to “deliver universal WSIB coverage for every worker in this province” rather than add sectors incrementally over many years.
‘One in four’ still without coverage, Goslin warns
Harry Goslin, president of the Ontario Compensation Employees Union (OCEU), which represents workers at the WSIB, said the expansion follows recommendations from a 2019 review of the agency that called for coverage to be extended in sectors such as nursing homes and health‑care facilities. But he questioned why it has taken this long to act.
“It took the government six years to be able to implement, which is crazy that they would be moving that slowly to protect some of the most vulnerable,” he said.
Goslin stressed the announcement still leaves a significant portion of the workforce outside the system. “The public does not understand, is not fully aware, that one in four in Ontario are not covered by WSIB, which is shameful,” he said, arguing that if the premier “really cares about the little guy, he should be expanding coverage for everybody,” including an estimated 1.56 million workers with no WSIB protection.
He pointed to sectors such as banking, insurance and engineering, which are currently excluded from mandatory coverage in Ontario despite being included in workers’ compensation systems in several other provinces, as well as staff at many private doctors’ offices. In those workplaces, he noted, employers can be sued for damages when injuries occur, and injured workers often end up relying on employment insurance or other publicly funded disability programs instead.
Unions push for universal coverage and staffing relief
Goslin is not just for universal coverage, but also for changes they say are needed inside the WSIB itself to make any expansion workable.
Goslin said WSIB staff have been struggling with high caseloads for years and recently concluded a seven‑week strike in large part over workload concerns. “It has been a systemic problem for at least the last two decades,” he said, citing survey results that show WSIB workers reporting some of the highest levels of workload‑related stress, anxiety and depression in Canada.
According to Goslin, a provincial hiring freeze and caps on the number of WSIB employees mean staff are already being asked to “do more with less.” With additional workers entering the system under the proposed expansion, he warned, “the workload is only increasing” if staffing levels cannot be adjusted to match the agency’s legislated obligations.
In a statement to Canadian Occupational Safety, the WSIB said “We hope people never need us, but if they do, our incredible team will always be here to help.”
Economic case for broader reform
Beyond worker protections, Goslin argued universal coverage would deliver economic benefits, including reduced costs for employers currently in the system and savings for the public health‑care budget. He cited economic assessments indicating that expanding coverage to all workers could lead to a 6.2 per cent reduction in average assessment rates for the roughly three‑quarters of employers who already pay WSIB premiums, while adding about $205 million to Ontario’s economy each year and offsetting more than $100 million in OHIP costs associated with workplace injuries.
For now, labour leaders say they will continue to press for broader reform. While they describe the legislation to extend WSIB coverage to 29,000 additional frontline care workers as progress, they maintain that until all Ontario workers are included, the province’s compensation system will remain a patchwork, and many injured workers will still be left without the protections they need.
