'This surplus would be better spent on preventing workplace injuries, illnesses and deaths, as well as supporting injured workers'
The Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba (WCB) is distributing $122 million in surplus funds to employers this year, crediting the move to “strong investment and financial management”.
“Strong investment returns, prudent financial management, and a stable reserve fund have allowed us to return $122 million to employers,” said Colin S. Robinson, chair of the board. “This distribution will support the Manitoba economy and offer employers the opportunity to reinvest in safer workplaces.”
This month, eligible employers will receive a credit equivalent to 50 per cent of their 2024 premium.
To qualify for the refund credit, employers must have fulfilled their 2024 payroll reporting responsibilities and owed a WCB premium. Employers who have not yet reported their 2024 payroll can still submit their information to receive the surplus distribution.
The move, however, did not sit well with the Manitoba Federation of Labour (MFL).
Manitoba’s worker compensation employer premiums are already the lowest in the country, said the union, adding that the WCB is making the move “when there are very clear needs for the WCB to do much more to prevent workplace injuries and deaths,” said MFL President Kevin Rebeck.
The surplus funds “would be better spent on preventing workplace injuries and illnesses,” he said.
Rebeck also cited the increasing injury rate in the province.
“This payout to employers is being made even though injury rates in Manitoba have increased over the last five years. And shockingly, employers will receive this rebate regardless of their safety record,” he said.
“This means that the workplaces that saw workers die on the job last year will receive the same kind of rebate as employers who take workplace health and safety more seriously. This provides no incentive for employers to improve their workplace health and safety standards.”
Increasing workplace injuries, fatalities
According to data from WCB, the province’s injury rate for all injuries stood at 4.8 in 2020. The number was 2.5 for time-loss injuries.
The injury rates were higher in the three years that followed, with the 2024 data still unavailable as of writing of this story.
The number of injuries has increased since 2020, even though the time-loss injury count dropped from 14,391 in 2022 to 13,604 in 2023.
The number of workplace fatalities has also increased, with data for 2022 and 2023 nearly triple the recorded deaths in 2020.
“This announced surplus is coming to light just days after the National Day of Mourning, where we marked 18 workplace-related deaths and 25,000 workplace related injuries suffered by Manitobans in 2024,” said Rebeck. “Workplace injuries in health care and public services have been climbing steadily, requiring urgent investments in stronger prevention programs in those areas.”
He concluded: “This surplus would be better spent on preventing workplace injuries, illnesses and deaths, as well as supporting injured workers.”
A previous report also noted that, among Winnipeg city employees, there was an increase in psychological claims from 2022 to 2023.
