02/20/2018
ST. JOHN’S, NL – Workers in Newfoundland and Labrador are celebrating a victory at the Workers’ Compensation Board today after the provincial government announced that compensation benefits for injured workers will be increased from 80 per cent of net earnings to 85 per cent.
“For too long injured workers have faced an uphill battle to get the benefits they deserve, while employers have enjoyed annual reductions in their assessment rate for the last number of years,” said Keith Sullivan, President of the Fish, Food and Allied Workers (FFAW-Unifor). “Government is finally doing the right thing and honouring the Statutory Review recommendation to increase the rate.”
Since 2014, the WorkplaceNL injury fund has had a surplus of over 110 per cent. Since 2013, employers have seen assessment rebates in excess of 30 per cent. There are approximately 13,000 injured workers who rely on WorkplaceNL for services. In Newfoundland and Labrador, 14 individuals are injured at work each day.
With these changes, wage-loss benefits will now be calculated at 85 per cent of a worker’s after-tax earnings, capped at the Maximum Compensable Assessable Earnings (MCAE) of $64,375 for 2018.
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For media inquiries, please contact:
Courtney Glode, FFAW Communications
cglode@ffaw.net
709-743-4445