WSIB Strike Enters Third Month as Union Slams Outsourcing of Core Services

OCEU Members Stage Union Station Picket to Demand Fair Deal and Transparency from WSIB

WSIB Strike Enters Third Month as Union Slams Outsourcing of Core Services
OCEU president Harry Goslin addresses striking WSIB workers during an information picket in Toronto, as the labour dispute enters its third month. (image source: X / @OceuR30067)

TORONTO — Tensions are rising between the Ontario Compensation Employees Union (OCEU/CUPE 1750) and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) as the province-wide strike by more than 3,600 frontline WSIB workers enters its third month. On Tuesday, union members took to Toronto’s Union Station to hold an information picket, calling attention to what they describe as a “dangerous and disrespectful” outsourcing of core services and a lack of meaningful progress at the bargaining table.

The demonstration, held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., aimed to inform commuters returning from the long weekend about the impacts of the ongoing labour dispute, including service disruptions affecting injured workers and employers across Ontario.

Union Sounds Alarm on Outsourcing Trial

According to internal documents obtained by OCEU, WSIB has launched a trial program that permits contracted health-care providers to perform duties historically assigned to unionized Return-to-Work Specialists. These contractors are being asked to:

  • Contact employers directly following assessments;

  • Discuss potential modified duties for injured employees;

  • Confirm alignment between job functions and medical limitations.

OCEU President Harry Goslin strongly condemned the move, calling it “a blatant attempt to undermine the strike and outsource union jobs behind closed doors.”

“These decisions affect people’s recovery, their employment and their future,” Goslin said. “Offloading this to private contractors with no accountability is irresponsible.”

The union is demanding that WSIB immediately end the pilot and return to the bargaining table to negotiate a fair contract for its workers.

Picketing for Transparency and Fairness

The information picket at Union Station follows a petition delivered last week to WSIB’s board of directors, signed by over 3,000 frontline workers, CUPE members, and concerned citizens. The petition urges the board to intervene and end what the union describes as a management-led “lockout” that is eroding trust in Ontario’s workers’ compensation system.

“WSIB management continues to delay and deflect while critical services remain disrupted,” Goslin said in a prepared statement. “The public deserves to know what’s really going on — that the people who support injured workers have been shut out instead of bargained with.”

Striking workers include case managers, return-to-work specialists, and administrative staff. They are seeking wage increases and workload protections that they say are necessary to ensure high-quality service for injured Ontarians.

Call for Action

OCEU is calling on WSIB leadership to present a fair and comprehensive offer that brings the strike to an end and allows union members to resume their roles in supporting injured workers and upholding the province’s compensation framework.


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About Alwin 15320 Articles
Alwin Marshall-Squire is the Editor-in-Chief of S-Q Publications Inc., publisher of GTA Weekly News. He oversees all editorial content and leads the publication’s mission to deliver bold, original journalism focused on the people and communities of the Greater Toronto Area. He can be reached at alwin.squire@gtaweekly.ca.

1 Comment

  1. I do not work for WSIB but clearly the employer is trying to punish its employees. I believe that their workloads are crazy. I would love to see the statistics on how many employees have quit as in the recent past, the reviews on indeed have been terrible. If they are treating their own employees in this manner and locking them out, one can imagine how management views injured workers. Like any insurance company they are for profit. Don’t fool yourself the CEO and the board are making lots of money

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