Thousands of Workplace Safety Insurance Board (WSIB) workers across the province could be back on the job soon after a tentative agreement was reached with the union to end a weeks-long strike, the Crown agency announced Saturday.
More than 3,000 union members have been on the picket lines since May 22 after talks between union executives and the WSIB over a new collective agreement broke down. The union was primarily concerned about wages and workloads, saying employees’ mental health was strained with high internal turnover.
“The organization looks forward to welcoming back its full team within 24 hours of a successful ratification vote,” a WSIB spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
Details of the tentative agreement have not yet been released pending a membership vote, a spokesperson with the CUPE-affiliated Ontario Compensation Employee’s Union (OCEU) said.
WSIB previously said it was offering the union wage increases above the rate of inflation that would see the average unionized salary jump from $98,000 to more than $104,500, according to the Crown agency’s website. The offer also included increased on-call premiums, full-time support for the joint workload committee with OCEU, upfront payment of travel expenses and extended health and dental coverage.
OCEU had previously said the provincial Crown agency signed contracts with U.S.-based companies in recent months at the cost of jobs and higher wages.
The union also said the WSIB spent $14.5 million to enlist life-coaching services for employees from Austin, Texas-based BetterUp — money OCEU/CUPE Local 1750 chief steward Nicole Francis says could have paid for a four per cent wage hike at a time when unionized members are negotiating for salaries to keep up with inflation.
The union also criticized the government agency for using automation to handle a backlog of claims during the strike.
With files from Nathan Bawaan and Estella Ren
