Business owners in New Brunswick are concerned over WorkSafe NB premium increases, that many say would be “unsustainable” for businesses.
WorkSafe NB held a stakeholder consultation Wednesday in Moncton, presenting possible rate increases that could be as high as 51 per cent.
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Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island Vice President, Joel Richardson, was at the session and says employee and employer representatives from companies from across the province were in attendance from many different sectors.
‘They announced that the rates for 2018 could be going up anywhere from 32 to 51 per cent,” Richardson said,
“The board of WorkSafe also made it very clear that they have no control over the cost and no control over the system right now. That’s very concerning from the private sector perspective from employers who are paying very expensive premiums now to WorkSafe and to government to provide insurance for our workers.”
Richardson says with last year’s 33 per cent premium increase, it would mean New Brunswick went from being the province with the second-lowest workers’ compensation premiums in the country to the second highest.
“It’s totally unacceptable at a time when the provincial economy is really struggling. These costs are way too high for employers to bear. We do not have the money for them, and we’re looking to the provincial government to step in and make some serious changes to address these costs,” Richardson said.
READ MORE: New Brunswick business owners concerned over increased WorkSafeNB premiums
Richardson said the increase is due to how WorkSafe NB’s appeal tribunal handles claims. He told Global News there need to be legislative changes to address the issue.
WorkSafe NB acting CEO Tim Petersen says no final decision has been made on rates for 2018. He says the projected increases that were presented to stakeholders are based on data from up until the end of July and that current numbers only provide a sense of what the magnitude could be.
“The board will have discussion next week that will take into account all of this information, plus information updated to the end of august,” Petersen said.
“They’ll have discussions about their funding policy and those things will all play a part in what they ultimately decide on for an average rate for 2018.”
Businesses struggling
Fredericton’s King Street Ale House owner Doug Williams says even a 40 per cent increase would mean an 80 per cent increase in two years. He says he has 35 employees and that something needs to be done to prevent rates from climbing year-over-year.
“It’s obvious that the system is completely broken. It doesn’t work for workers, it doesn’t work for employers, there’s no way possible that rates should increase this far,” Williams said.
Fredericton Chamber of Commerce CEO Krista Ross says the increase, coupled with other tax and rate increases and the federal government’s tax changes, will make it difficult for businesses to succeed in New Brunswick.
“What are businesses going to do so they can keep their businesses afloat? Will this mean they will have to cut hours, will they have to automate?” Ross said.
“Some businesses might tell us they have to close because they simply can’t afford increase after increase on such a variety of issues.”
In May, the province announced the creation of a Workers’ Compensation task force.
The task force will be holding pubic consultations throughout October and compiling a report that will be presented later this fall.
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Task force chair Dennis Browne says the working group is collecting evidence and studying the projected premium increases for next year. Browne says many employers have already expressed their concerns over the increases.
“We expect to get more representation when we go out to do the public hearing, but after we’ve gathered all of the evidence we will be positioned to deliberate and make findings of fact and base our report on the facts the way we see them,” Browne said.
“We will be making recommendations perhaps for legislative change and we may be making other recommendation, which right now concern injured workers and employee stakeholders as well.”
Provincial Government Response
The province’s Minister of Labour, Employment and Population Growth said in an email statement that the government is “disappointed.”
“We wrote WorkSafeNB in May and asked them to hold rates, pending the task force and the work of the Auditor General. If they proceed with an increase like this, we will consider our options,” Gilles LePage said.
“We recognize that increasing rates is a significant challenge for employers. With that said, it is important to strike the right balance between the interests of both employers and employees.”
LePage says that’s why the Gallant government established the task force to identify short-term solutions and establish a plan he said “ensures the system is transparent, accountable, predictable and sustainable in the long-term.”
He says the former minister wrote to WorkSafeNB’s Board Chair he asked them to “undertake serious efforts to consider all options within their authority” to ensure any future rate increases should be kept as minimal and shouldn’t affect the long-term sustainability of the workers’ compensation system.
LePage says the government also has obtained support from the Auditor General to undertake a value for money and performance audit of WorkSafeNB.
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