In 1995 the government of Bob Rae eliminated full indexing for injured worker benefits. In 1998 Mike Harris’s reduced that indexing. These two legislative changes reduced the liabilities at the Board by over $2 billion dollars. But they also significantly reduced injured worker benefits. An injured worker receiving partial benefits in 1995 has seen the real value of his or her benefits reduced by just over 19%: hamiltonjustice.ca/blog/?post=Our%20Thoughts%20on%20the%20WSIB%20Funding%20Review%20-%20Part%20Two&id=195 While this was happening, employers in Ontario enjoyed significant premium reductions. In 1991 the average premium was $3.20 per $100.00 in payroll. That average premium dropped to $3.00 per $100.00 in 1997. These assessments were steadily decreased in the late 90’s until by 2001 the average assessment rate stood at $2.13 per 100 dollars in payroll. The result, then, is that in spite of the supposed financial crisis that justified significant benefit reductions to injured workers, employers in Ontario had their costs reduced by 29%. “Even with the recent announced increases in the premium rates, employers are only paying $2.30 per $100.00 in payroll; this is a 23% reduction in premiums from the 1997 rate,” notes Clinic Lawyer and WSIB expert Andrew Bome. If employers had not enjoyed a premium reduction and had the province allowed the Workplace Safety & Insurance Board to keep the savings from the reduced benefits for injured workers there would be no unfunded liability. This fact was confirmed by data produced by the WSIB in 2009.
Posted on: Wed, 11 Sep 2013 13:34:52 +0000