Despite assertions by WSIB to the contrary, the union representing employees maintains that WSIB is, in fact, bringing a permanent close to Northern Ontario offices including Sudbury’s.
Taking umbrage with the union’s representation of events, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board has issued Sudbury.com a statement to clarify they “are not closing anything.”
Messaging from the Ontario Compensation Employees Union (CUPE Local 1750) in recent weeks has centred on criticisms regarding last month’s decision by WSIB to close nine offices within six months (plus Waterloo, when their lease expires in 2028).
This list of closures includes all Northern Ontario offices, including the Sudbury office.
“We have not had offices in Sudbury or across Northern Ontario since the pandemic and are not closing anything,” WSIB said in an email to Sudbury.com.
In response to WSIB’s response, a union spokesperson called their insistence that they aren't closing offices “bizarre.”
Ontario Compensation Employees Union (CUPE Local 1750) president Harry Goslin expanded on this point in conversation with Sudbury.com on Sept. 8, describing WSIB’s Aug. 19 announcement that they were permanently closing offices as being “a shock to the workforce.”
“During the pandemic and post-pandemic, the employer maintained that they were leaning into work from home,” following the province’s direction to reduce their real estate footprint, he said.
More recently, the province pushed for a return to the office. While some organizations re-opened physical spaces, WSIB chose not to do so. Goslin pointed to Sept. 21, 2023, direction by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development directive for WSIB to explore “the cost savings of relocating regional urban offices without compromising client needs services” as a possible reason for this.
While WSIB offices closed as their leases expired during the pandemic, including Sudbury’s, Goslin said WSIB always maintained in their messaging with the union that they were looking for new spaces to lease. Having neglected to follow through on this pledge, last month’s announcement brings a permanent close to regional offices throughout Northern Ontario.
In Sudbury, this means the elimination of approximately 157 jobs at the latest count. Previously estimated at 136, Goslin said WSIB had their numbers wrong and that he expects it to come in even higher than that when all is said and done.
The latest estimates include the loss of 280 positions in Northern Ontario amid a broader 566 positions across the province, plus an additional 155 next year. Positions will shift to offices in southern Ontario.
In WSIB’s written statement to Sudbury.com, they said, “how people access our services is not changing” as a result of the changes they’re rolling out.
“We continue to expand health care access here and now partner with 91 physical and mental health care providers in Sudbury,” they said. “We are also maintaining a local team to provide in-person return-to-work support. Local Return to Work Specialists will continue to provide service in the Sudbury community.”
Goslin estimates there will be five or six return-to-work specialists who will retain positions in Sudbury, but that these roles will be filled based on seniority, with displaced workers able to shift into these roles. He described this process as “a whole new learning curve for new people to come into that role, which will impact service for sure.”
The permanent closure of Northern Ontario offices and shifting most associated jobs to southern Ontario is “an absolutely insane decision,” he said.
“It just doesn’t make any sense whatsoever, and WSIB is not explaining how they think they can maintain customer service by cutting nearly 600 jobs now, and then there’s going to be all the rollover reciprocal effects.”
The Greater Toronto Area isn’t the same as Northern Ontario, he said, with regional differences lost in translation when WSIB employees in the south are asked to help clients in the north. An easy example of this is southern Ontarians’ understanding of Northern Ontario travel times, he said, which drastically underestimate how vast the region is.
“We recognize this is difficult news for impacted team members and their families,” the WSIB statement said. “We will treat everyone fairly and with respect in recognition of the valuable role they have played on our team. That includes access to resume writing, job seeking services and a continuation of benefits including unlimited mental health support during this transition.”
The WSIB statement described their decision to slash Northern Ontario jobs as the product of a “difficult business decision to consolidate some claim and account management functions resulting in some adjustments to local staffing needs.”
In response to the WSIB statement, Sudbury.com asked WSIB a number of key details, including how many WSIB positions will be retained in Northern Ontario and Sudbury, as well as their latest estimate for the number of jobs being eliminated in Northern Ontario and Sudbury. We also requested their rationale for shifting Northern Ontario jobs to the south.
As of the time of publication, WSIB had not responded. This story will be updated in the event they do.
Meanwhile, Goslin sent a letter to the WSIB board of directors on Sept. 8 urging them to “pause the closures and reverse the planned workforce reductions until an independent review can verify how service levels, regional expertise, employee capacity, and community impacts will be addressed.”
The concentration of job losses outside of the Greater Toronto Area “runs directly counter to repeated commitments to support regional economies like Northern Ontario and maintain public-sector employment in communities that already face significant economic challenges,” he wrote. “Entire regions are being stripped of experienced WSIB staff while being assured that local service will somehow remain unchanged. That claim has not been substantiated.”
Among the union’s concerns is that artificial intelligence will play a role in WSIB’s future operating model.
“Injured workers deserve to know whether decisions affecting their claims will increasingly rely on automated tools, and the public deserves transparency regarding how AI is influencing staffing decisions, service delivery, and the future direction of Ontario's workplace insurance system.”
