rich 1.0 Action Network https://actionnetwork.org <link href='https://actionnetwork.org/css/style-embed-v3.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /><script src='https://actionnetwork.org/widgets/v6/form/injuredworkersdeservebetter?format=js&source=widget'></script><div id='can-form-area-injuredworkersdeservebetter' style='width: 100%'><!-- this div is the target for our HTML insertion --></div> BC Federation of Labour https://actionnetwork.org/groups/bc-federation-of-labour https://can2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/forms/photos/000/796/021/normal/INJURED_WORKERS_DESERVE_BETTER_(2).png We, the undersigned, call upon the Minister of Labour and the Workers Compensation Board of Directors to take immediate steps to provide the following for injured workers in BC:   Early, multimodal, and ongoing treatment of pain, both acute and chronic. Ongoing, multimodal treatment for workers with permanent chronic pain so as to mitigate its ongoing impact on their quality of life and return to work. There must be an end to the practice of ending treatment for those who suffer permanent chronic pain.   Multidisciplinary evaluation of the functional impact of permanent chronic pain on each individual and compensate that worker fairly, rather than at an unassessed 2.5% flat rate. We are concerned that there has been excessive delay in addressing chronic pain treatment and compensation since this matter was identified in the Petrie Report in 2018, the Patterson report in 2019 and the report commissioned by WSBC from Dr. Williamson in 2019. Chronic pain has been in various WorkSafeBC Workplans since 2007, yet workers have not seen changes to implement early, effective, and ongoing treatment, or any change to the 2.5% flat rate for chronic pain as a permanent impairment regardless of the location or severity. The draft changes proposed do not reflect what should be six years of progress on this important issue.   This is despite the reality that up to 70% of injured workers suffer from chronic pain. It is far past time for injured workers to receive evidence-based treatment early, for WorkSafeBC to stop accepting chronic pain as permanent without providing individualized assessment and ongoing treatment, and for workers to be fairly compensated for the impact of chronic pain on their lives and livelihoods.   We ask the Honorable Minister of Labour and the WCB Board of Directors to act now to make the changes that injured workers deserve, and that will provide dignity and fairness to workers living and working with chronic pain. To: The Honourable Jennifer Whiteside, Minister of Labour William Laird Cronk, BOD Chair And Public Interest Representative Cynthia Morton, Public Interest Representative Sharon Giffen, Actuary Edith MacHattie, Health Care Or Rehabilitation Representative Lorna Pawluk, Employer Representative Anil Singh, Law or Law Enforcement Representative Joshua Towsley, Worker Representative Judy Village, Occupational Health and Safety Representative Anne Naser, ex officio https://actionnetwork.org/forms/injuredworkersdeservebetter