EDMONTON – The provincial government has an obligation to move ahead quickly to resolve longstanding and contentious Workers Compensation Board claims, says the president of Alberta’s largest union.

"Injured working people should not be held accountable for past mistakes that denied them benefits to which they were entitled," said Alberta Union of Provincial Employees President Dan MacLennan.

"No one can have any faith in the system if injustices are allowed to go uncorrected," he said.

"The people being penalized are injured workers who are unable to defend themselves," MacLennan added. "This must be resolved in a timely fashion."

A bill to amend the Workers Compensation Act introduced in the Alberta Legislature Monday gives the government the authority to set up a review body to try to resolve the many longstanding, contentious WCB claims that exist.

However, Alberta Human Resources and Employment Minister Clint Dunford said in a statement that "the government will not move ahead on this provision until there is consensus among stakeholders on how to pay for the review."

Dunford said three Conservative MLAs will meet with employers to discuss the cost of the review and report back by the end of June. He said he will then make an announcement on the future of the review before the end of July.

"The trouble with this is that there never will be consensus among stakeholders on the process that needs to take place," said AUPE Union Representative Grace Dykau, who specializes in WCB issues.

"The problem is that employers do not want the review to proceed because they are concerned about the cost if longstanding and contentious claims are dealt with fairly.

"But the government has, through this legislation, in effect admitted that there is a history of claims being unfairly and improperly denied," Dykau said. "Not to move forward is to perpetuate an injustice."

Dykau said the province should restore the WCB fund that once existed to pay for reviews of WCB cases in dispute.

However they are paid for, she added, it is unacceptable for the province to tie resolution of past unfair decisions to a consensus that will be virtually impossible to reach.


For more information, contact:
Dan MacLennan, President, AUPE, 780-930-3301 or 780-910-8392 (cellular phone)
Grace Dykau, Union Representative, AUPE, 780-930-3343
David Climenhaga, Communications Director, AUPE, 780-930-3311 or 780-717-2943 (cellular phone)

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