VANCOUVER – Christy Clark’s plan to take millions of dollars from the workers’ accident fund and give it to business owners is absurd and wrong, says Shane Simpson, B.C.’s New Democrat spokesperson for labour and jobs.

“Despite countless injured workers around B.C. facing roadblocks while trying to receive fair compensation from WorkSafeBC for workplace injuries, Christy Clark decided business owners and B.C. Liberal donors deserve to be taken care of first, and she’ll work quickly to hand over millions meant for workers’ injury claims,” said Simpson.

“Those are backward priorities. Christy Clark isn’t there for injured workers or people who have dangerous or high-risk jobs, but she’s there for top donors and corporations. There isn’t enough being done to protect workers right now in B.C., and workers and their families are often finding it difficult to receive fair compensation for tragic accidents on the job,” said Simpson.

Simpson said this government raid of injured workers’ funds is similar to how Christy Clark takes money from ICBC and BC Hydro despite increasing rates year after year for B.C. families. The only difference here, Simpson said, is that Christy Clark is giving the money directly to her corporate friends.

Under the B.C. Liberals, WorkSafeBC made major cuts to its staff and services. In 2002, while Christy Clark was the deputy premier, WorkSafeBC’s budget was reduced by 12 per cent, a move that resulted in offices closures and a 30 per cent reduction in site visits by prevention officers. Since then, WorkSafeBC has drastically reduced inspection reports, written orders and employer penalties.

In 2002, the Christy Clark and the B.C. Liberals also made changes to workers compensation that eliminated virtually all loss of earnings pensions for permanently injured or ill workers. As a result, the annual number of loss-of-earnings pensions awarded has dropped significantly. They also reduced the amount of compensation paid to workers, and set employer premium rates at the lowest in 30 years.

“The Clark government should be fixing those gaps, and restoring cuts she has made to WorkSafeBC, not giving yet another handout to donors and corporations,” said Simpson.

The 46,000 strong Hospital Employees Union called the plan to raid funds intended for injured workers a betrayal.

HEU secretary-business manager Jennifer Whiteside says that the BC Liberal government is turning its back on injured workers with its plan to force WorkSafeBC to return “surplus” funds to employers.

“In the health care sector, and especially in residential care homes, injury rates from strains and from violence are unacceptably high and overwhelmingly impact women,” says Whiteside.

“There really is no surplus to return – those funds are needed by WorkSafeBC to boost health and safety education, expand violence prevention training, and more stringently enforce health and safety regulations.

charges BC Federation of Labour President Irene Lanzinger said Premier Christy Clark’s plan to siphon tens of millions of dollars in funds for injured workers and gift it to employers is an outrageous political move and comes at a time when more needs to be done to keep workers safe on the job and fairly compensate those who are killed or injured.

“The money that the government and employers are appropriating should instead be used to improve benefits for workers killed and injured on the job that were slashed by the BC Liberals,” Lanzinger says.

“On the job, workers’ daily experience is that government and employers aren’t doing enough to keep them safe,” Lanzinger says. “Health and safety protections are weak and not always rigorously enforced. Worker safety is being compromised. Injured workers aren’t fairly compensated, and employers whose negligence kills or seriously injures workers are let off with a slap on the wrist.”