CRFA's Nova Scotia Lobbyist
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Luc Erjavec Vice President, Atlantic Canada T: 1-877-755-1938 E: luc@crfa.ca |
Nova Scotia WCB review
(Oct. 21/08) The Workers Compensation Board has become a lot more efficient and transparent in recent years, but there's still some room for improvement. That's the message CRFA delivered in a submission on the strategic direction of the Nova Scotia Workers Compensation Board (NSWCB).
CRFA believes in striking a balance between providing benefits to injured workers and maintaining an affordable and sustainable system for employers. That balance rests on five principles:
- Workers’ compensation is an insurance program not a social program. As such it must be run using insurance principles.
- At the same time, injured workers deserve to be treated in a timely, respectable fashion and receive adequate compensation for a loss of earnings.
- Employers need an affordable insurance program that is accountable and competitive with other jurisdictions.
- Accident prevention is a priority; the best way to reduce workers’ compensation costs is to prevent accidents from happening.
- Assessment rates must reflect the actual experience of the rate group and the individual firm.
While great progress has been made to date, assessment rates in the province have not decreased - unlike other jurisdictions in Atlantic Canada - and are now the highest in Canada. Constantly rising workers’ compensation premiums, along with rising labour costs and declining profitability, limit the ability of foodservice operators to sustain and create jobs for Nova Scotians.
CRFA’s overarching recommendation is that the NSWCB continue to focus in reducing accidents and reinforce efforts to reduce claims durations and return injured workers back to the workforce, while keeping internal costs in line. Other recommendations include:
- Merge the Occupation Health and Safety Division with the NSWCB to improve safety outcomes and reduce duplication of efforts.
- Make the Office of the Employer Advisor permanent, with adequate resources and with an expanded role to include representation at appeals.
- Establish a standard of transparency and accountability from all organizations receiving funding from the accident fund, including injured worker groups and safety associations, similar to the standard for the Office of the Employer Advisor.
Related documents:
- CRFA submission to the Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia (PDF) (Oct. 9/08)