New WSIB premium cuts are a further insult while layoffs harm services for injured workers

Just announced: $160 million to bosses is the latest in Premier Doug Ford's $21 billion legacy of biggest theft from injured workers in Ontario history

TORONTO, October 23, 2026--Workers at the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) are shocked at the Ontario government's decision to further reduce WSIB premium rates for bosses while injured workers continue to face the consequences of long-standing cuts to their compensation and WSIB's own employees face needless layoffs.

"Let's be clear about who is paying the price for these anti-worker decisions," said Harry Goslin, president of Ontario Compensation Employees' Union (OCEU)/CUPE Local 1750. "Injured workers have lived with cuts to their compensation for years, and now the government is celebrating another round of handing money back to bosses instead of putting that money toward the people who the WSIB exists to serve. This money should be going to injured workers, restoring compensation levels, and ensuring people can live with dignity while recovering from a workplace injury or coping with a lifelong illness."

OCEU/CUPE Local 1750 is also continuing to sound the alarm about the impact of staffing reductions at the WSIB. With hundreds of workers facing layoffs and 10 regional locations closing, fewer staff are being asked to do more in an increasingly unsafe workplace while injured workers in all industries across Ontario suffer from the resulting substantial negative service impacts.

"It's just insulting to cut the people who deliver services to injured workers, increase the pressure on the WSIB workers who remain, and then pretend that reducing resources is the same thing as improving the system," said Goslin. "When Ontario's injured workers face delays or struggle to get the support they need, this government's decisions have real consequences for the lives of those workers and their families. Ford's WSIB layoffs are unnecessary, and they make an already difficult situation worse."

"The Ford government's latest WSIB press release says that investing in workers creates stability for families and communities, but actions speak louder than words," said Goslin. "So, we're reminding premier Ford that this principle needs to apply to all workers, including the WSIB employees facing layoffs and the injured workers who depend on them to be there to provide support. Approving more premium evasion by bosses while cutting staff and leaving injured workers without adequate compensation is the message Doug Ford delivered this week and it's wrong."