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A labour group representing 35,000 public- and private-sector employees in the province says reforms to the Workplace Heath, Safety and Compensation Commission must include the elimination of the three-day waiting period for injured workers.

Dave Plante

"We really believe it is unfair," said Michel Boudreau, president of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour.

The federation has pitched the idea of scrapping the three-day waiting period, during which employees receive no benefits, to the independent panel commissioned by the government to review the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission.

Boudreau said the waiting period, which was first introduced by the McKenna government in 1993 to stem financial losses within the system, violates the principles upon which workers compensation in New Brunswick was founded.

Labour, he said, entered into the system with industry and government with the understanding that it would provide for them if they were injured. In exchange for that insurance, workers agreed not to sue employers when they are hurt on the job.

The provincial government launched the review of the commission last year to fulfill an election promise. The results of the review are expected to be released in the coming months.

The review has prompted a host of suggested changes from industry, labour and the health care professionals.

Among the suggestions: Privatizing the Worker's Rehabilitation Centre in Grand Bay-Westfield, assessment rate and tax breaks for businesses investing in technologies to improve safety and scrapping the three-day waiting period.

While the New Brunswick Federation of Labour is supporting the elimination of the waiting period, industry in the province is firmly opposed.

David Plante, vice-president of the New Brunswick Division of the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, said eliminating the waiting period would jeopardize the financial stability of the compensation system.

"This has enabled the (commission) to go from an unfunded liability of nearly $100 million to the position of financial stability it is in today," he said.

"If the three-day waiting period were to be eliminated or even compromised we would quickly find ourselves back in a situation of financial peril. That's not in the interest of workers or employers."