Return to Work Position Paper Released

MFL compensation committee takes an indepth look at return to work issues.

Often being described as the number one issue facing injured workers during their healing and rehabilitation, return to work had never been an obligation on the employers covered under Manitoba's workers compensation scheme prior to this amendment. This was at odds with six of the other nine provinces who place a legal obligation on employers to take a worker back following their injury recovery.

The Workers Compensation Board (WCB) of Manitoba prepared a document to identify barriers to the employer's obligation to re-employ workers following a workplace injury. It was circulated to all Manitoba Federation of Labour affiliates.

The MFL's compensation committee reviewed the information circulated by the Manitoba Workers Compensation Board as part of their consultation with stakeholders. The committee decided to prepare a comprehensive background paper on all the issues that workers have faced trying to return to their jobs following a significant and debilitating injury.

The compensation committee's position paper identifies the main issues that advocates have dealt with for many years and offers some solutions to problems. The paper states that there are three main areas that need to be discussed — managing the disability, managing the WCB claim and managing the return to work.

The paper concludes that return to work issues are integrated and complex to solve but not impossible – there is no single issue that can be described as a 'fix all'. There are many roles and responsibilities that overlap. But with a clear understanding of the challenges and their solutions, this can and should be a seamless process. Our experiences thus far have found inconsistencies in success that need to be addressed as the provisions of the Act come into force.

If you would like to read the full report (nine pages), you can download "A Discussion on Returning Workers to Work" in PDF format(109 KB).

The WCB's consultation paper poses five questions they wish stakeholders to comment on. They are asking for:

• general comments;
• should some industries and workers be excluded;
• can operational issues be identified;
• best method for communicating obligations and,
• how much should penalties be for non-compliance.

The WCB will be grouping the submissions and submitting them to their Board of Directors for implementation planning and administration. The Board will accept written submissions no later than May 31. Submissions should be sent to Corporate Secretary, Workers Compensation Board, 333 Broadway, Winnipeg, MB, R3C 4W3.