Injured Workers Rally Against Poverty & Privatization


TORONTO, May 31, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Ford government and WSIB continue to come under fire from injured workers and supporters, with a rally at Queen’s Park taking place on Saturday, June 1st at 11am. Organized by the Ontario Network of Injured Workers Groups (ONIWG), the rally comes on the heels of a damning report about the WSIB’s practice of sending almost half of permanently disabled injured workers into poverty, and the introduction of a Bill to end the practice.

“They’ve known about this injustice for years,” said ONIWG President Willy Noiles. “But only now have we been able to uncover the stats to prove it. They know many permanently disabled injured workers aren’t able to find work, but the WSIB pretends they have a job anyways and cuts their benefits. It’s cruel and it’s wrong.”

The rally also comes as a response to the government’s announcement that it is undertaking a review of the WSIB, which the injured worker community fears may open the door to privatization in the workers’ compensation system. The leaders of the review have a background in insurance and the private sector, which is ominous for the public system.

“Although the government denies that they are privatizing the system, we’ve seen them break promises before – like when they said they would not make any cuts to frontline service jobs,” said Noiles. “There are cracks in the current system, but turning it into a private insurance scheme would be an abject disaster for some of the most vulnerable people in Ontario. We’re not going to let it happen under our watch.”

For more information, please contact:
Willy Noiles: 289-219-4473
Additional spokespeople will be available onsite for interviews