Source: Ontario Federation of Labour

Injured Workers Eat Macaroni While Hudak Feasts on $8500/Table Dinner

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Aug. 17, 2011) - Injured workers and supporters occupying wanna-be Premier Tim Hudak's constituency office were forced to resort to dramatic measures to call attention to their plight. But Hudak was nowhere to be found.

Tweeting from elsewhere, Hudak chatted about his $8500/table fundraiser and new P.C. candidates but not a word about the impoverished circumstances of the "working families" that he purports to care about.

"Hudak is the same guy who, while in the Harris government, voted to push a quarter-of-a-million people into poverty," says OFL President Sid Ryan, who was part of today's occupation of Hudak's office.

Across Ontario, hundreds of injured workers and their supporters took part in occupations of six MPP offices calling for an end to the forced poverty of workers injured on the job and dying from occupational diseases. In particular, the lack of inflation protection and reduction of WSIB benefits have triggered massive poverty and hardship.

Ryan calls the Liberals no better than the Tories. Liberal cabinet minister Brad Duguid actually called the police who threatened to arrest workers in his office. "The Liberals have kept the Conservative cuts to WSIB benefits in place. Injured workers and the OFL are promising to ensure that both leaders hear from injured workers every day of the campaign," says Ryan.

Ontario Network of Injured Workers' Groups President Peter Page says: "We're saying no more cap in hand. We're not begging anymore for what is owed to us. We're telling Mr. McGuinty that unless he finally deals with this crisis, we'll be with him every step of the way on his upcoming election campaign."

Contact Information:

OFL
Sid Ryan
President
416-209-0066 (mobile)

OFL
Joel Duff
Communications Director
416-707-0349 (mobile)

OFL
Lynn Simmons
Communications Department
416-668-7480 (mobile)

www.OFL.ca
www.Twitter.com/OntarioLabour
www.Facebook.com/OntarioFedLabour