Most members of DC-38 realize the many benefits of being a union member. From higher wages to significant pension and medical benefits to training at our Finishing Trades Institute, DC-38 has a lot to offer members. What many members don’t realize, however, is that in addition to these services, your union provides support for those with workplace injuries and WorksafeBC claims.
Anybody who has been injured on the job and filed a WorksafeBC claim can tell you how complex and frustrating WorksafeBC can be. If you’re one of those injured workers, you know first-hand! If you aren’t, you’ve heard the nightmarish stories! Fact is, since the Gordon Campbell Liberals changed WorksafeBC laws and policies back in 2002 at the behest of the business community, workers have been getting a raw deal. Having an advocate “in your corner” when WorksafeBC puts you “on the ropes” can make a big difference.
The average WorksafeBC claim can involve a wide range of issues from wage loss benefits to vocational rehabilitation services to the calculation of a disability award for a permanent impairment sustained at the workplace. These issues can take many months, oftentimes years, to adjudicate and resolve.
If you have been injured at work or have a WorksafeBC claim that you need some assistance with, come talk to us at DC-38. We’re here to help.
If our initial review of your evidence suggests that you have a legitimate claim, we will put you in contact with the Workers’ Advocate at the BC Building Trades Council. Over the last several years the Workers’ Advocate has represented many of our members. His commitment to DC-38 has been demonstrated by his enthusiasm to help our members “off the ropes” when they get into a tangle with WorksafeBC, the compelling nature of his written as well as oral advocacy, and the significant “wins” he has chalked up. Those “wins” have included successfully negotiating several vocational rehabilitation plans providing meaningful new skills and knowledge for members who were unable to return to their pre-injury jobs; challenging inaccurate long term wage loss benefits that failed to reflect member earnings; providing qualitative and quantitative research in support of loss of earnings awards that were ultimately granted by WorksafeBC; and arguing successfully for an extension of a disability award beyond the standard age of retirement by ten years, thereby putting over two hundred thousand dollars into a member’s pocket.
At DC-38, we think having a workers’ advocate to assist our members with their WorksafeBC claims is an essential service. While there is no legal obligation under our collective agreement or statutory laws to do so, we think the WorksafeBC system is far too complicated, and our members have far too much to lose, to go it alone. So, if you have been injured at work or have a WorksafeBC claim that you need assistance with, contact us. We’ll go to battle for you!