News Details

The Ontario Network of Injured Workers Groups 18th annual Christmas demonstration will be held at the Ministry of Labour in Toronto this Friday, December 4, at 11 a.m.

This year's concern is poverty among injured workers:

• Poverty created by deeming injured workers to have jobs they do not have
• The need for full, permanent cost-of-living adjustments
• Eliminate Experience Rating which rewards employers for hiding injuries
• Workers’ compensation coverage for all Ontario workers

The life of the permanently disabled and their families is under the severe stress of poverty. A recent survey of injured workers by the Ontario Network of Injured Workers Groups (ONIWG) found that the poverty rate amongst injured workers was 2-4 times higher than in the general population of Ontario. Nearly one in five injured workers (18%) was on social assistance and there was a 13-fold increase in food bank use after a workplace injury. The incidence of subsidized housing use more than doubled after injury. Arbitrary deeming of unemployed injured workers to be fully employed means that workers' compensation benefits are cut when suitable work is not available, resulting in poverty and hardship. The cost of workplace injuries are being downloaded onto our publicly funded social safety net when it is already strained by the recession. Key findings and the full survey are online at the link below.