'Cumbersome' compensation system for workers needs overhaul, says group

A group that has fought for the rights of injured workers for the past 25 years gave politicians a lot to chew on Tuesday with a 40-minute critique of Nova Scotia's workers' compensation system.

Mary Lloyd of the Pictou County Injured Workers Association told the legislature's human resources committee the system needs an overhaul and should be the subject of an independent inquiry.

Lloyd said the system doesn't provide injured workers with enough to live on and is geared toward keeping costs down for a small number of large employers that account for most workplace injuries.

'Difficult, cumbersome system'

She said something has to be done to get the system working as it was intended under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

"It has become a very litigious, difficult, cumbersome system and it's not funded," Lloyd said in an interview following her presentation. "The fact that it's not been reviewed for 22 years isunacceptable."

Lloyd said her group is renewing its call for an inquiry to provide an independent and impartial look at the system.

The group's demand for a royal commission in 2012 was turned down by the former NDP government, which concluded such a move would be too costly and complex.

Struggle to get change

Lloyd admitted it's been a constant struggle to get any change.

"We are the hamster on the treadmill going around in circles," she said. "It took sit-ins, it took protests and everything to get anything in the past."

Lloyd said her group is handling more than 600 active cases from around the province. It also helps with about 20 to 30 appeals of Workers' Compensation Board decisions per year, she said.

She told the committee that the province's no-fault system is designed to provide employers with protection from civil liability while ensuring that workers receive the benefits and medical aid they deserve.

Compensation not sufficient

However, she said the current system does not provide sufficient compensation to cover workers' lost earnings.

She said the current maximum take-home benefit for injured workers who cannot return to work is $36,000.

"It doesn't matter what level of pay you came from," she said."You could be an $80,000 a year worker ...and that's the maximum you would make.

"Why is it fair for injured workers to be receiving such small benefits for a no-fault system?"

Lloyd said workers' compensation remains burdened by an unfunded liability that was $382 million as of Dec. 31, 2016.

Possible legal challenges

She also noted that the workers' compensation program in Ontario is currently the subject of a class action lawsuit by workers who allege their benefits were wrongfully slashed.

"The current workers' compensation system in Nova Scotia is so eroded, legal challenges will be successful and that door is opening wider every day."

Following the hearing, Progressive Conservative committee member Karla MacFarlane said the group's call for help seems to have fallen on deaf ears despite government promises.

MacFarlane said she knows people who have received benefits since the 1970s and have only seen increases of up to $8 since that time.

"Something has to be done and the sooner the better, or we could be looking at some kind of legal action," she said.

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