The Sarnia and District Labour Council is speaking out against cuts made by Ontario's Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB).
The province announced Wednesday that it was introducing an average premium reduction to employers of 29.8 per cent. That is expected to lead to $2.23 billion in savings for employers, once premium cuts are fully introduced.
This comes after making ongoing cuts to get rid of unfunded liability in the system.
Labour Council President Jason McMichael said workers' rights are being impacted.
"Workers' compensation in the province is a right, and we want to protect that as much as possible," said McMichael. "Our goal is always to build safer workplaces. That's what we're going to try and continue to do. Whether we're working with this government, the previous government, or the next government, we're going to continue to try and look out for workers."
In 2010, the WSIB issued compensation benefits to injured workers in the amount of approximately $4.8 billion, by 2017 that number was cut to $2.3 billion.
Studies of injured workers with permanent impairments found that 58 per cent have long-term reduced earnings, 46 per cent of permanently impaired injured workers live in or close to the poverty level and 9 per cent live in deep poverty.
