WSIB 'hopeful' while union says 'it's waiting to hear back' after submitting counter offer
Bargaining between the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) and the Ontario Compensation Employees Union (OCEU/CUPE 1750) remains tense as another week closes without a resolution. Talks are scheduled to continue into the weekend, with both sides expressing frustration and hope in equal measure.
On May 21, citing concerns over workload, understaffing, and impacts on employee and client well-being, the union declared it would stage rolling strikes, with the intention of having workers return to their jobs after two days of walking the picket lines. But the WSIB locked out striking workers as part of its “business continuity protocol”, meaning striking workers will not return to their jobs until a deal is reached. The WSIB says core services remain operational.
“We remain at the table,” says Aaron Lazarus, WSIB vice president of communications. “I think it was a good sign that after more than a week, the union leadership decided to at least submit a counterproposal, because that’s how negotiations go. So that is going to continue at the table, and we are hopeful that we’ll be able to reach a fair and reasonable agreement.”
On the union side, OCEU/CUPE 1750 president Harry Goslin voices frustration at WSIB’s approach to the talks. “We provided a comprehensive pass on Tuesday night, and we are right now waiting to hear back from the WSIB,” says Goslin. “For some reason, they don’t seem very compelled to move quickly, and we find that shocking if they’re the caretakers of injured workers in Ontario”.
Goslin adds, “I’m not feeling like we are [getting closer]. I’m quite worried that WSIB is not motivated to narrow the issues and is quite willing to see this strike continue, which is shameful”.
Lazarus counters by highlighting that “hundreds of unionized workers have actually decided that they will continue working… and we are hopeful that with the negotiated agreement, we’ll be able to get the team back together again.” He suggests these workers’ actions reflect a different view than the union leadership’s public stance.
A key moment in the dispute happened on Tuesday at the New Horizons in Safety conference in Markham, where WSIB leaders were speaking about health and safety. Lazarus visited striking workers at the conference, offering them Timbits to show support. “I went to that conference, and I knew that there were going to be some of my colleagues there… I thought that they might enjoy a snack while they were outside. I didn’t want them to feel alone.”
Goslin dismisses this as a misguided gesture: “We’re not looking for Timbits. We’re looking for real wages and real resolutions for workload… It was an insult to the workers that are out there on strike, you know, trying to live off of strike pay and trying to fight for their rights”.
As talks progress at the Sheraton Conference Center in Toronto, Lazarus says WSIB remains “hopeful that we are able to continue having a serious conversation at the table.” Goslin, however, says he worries that “it’s a sad state of affairs for their employees, for the injured workers,” if WSIB does not change its approach.
Goslin says he saw an internal message from the WSIB chair that claims workers will not be back until after June 11. “I don’t know how he would know that when he’s not involved in bargaining,” says Goslin. “What that actually means, we’re trying to understand. Why would they be looking for the strike to continue? We’re trying to end it”.
For now, the lockout—and the union’s resolve—show no signs of ending. As bargaining continues, the future of the dispute remains uncertain.
