Injured workers and their supporters will come together on Saturday to celebrate their resiliency and power in the face of decades of cuts to benefits and services.
Organized by the Ontario Network of Injured Workers Groups (ONIWG), a Injured Workers Day rally at the flag pole at Tecumseh and Ouellette will take place on June 1 at 11 a.m. alongside events in at least three other cities including Toronto and London.
The rally comes on the heels of a number of injured worker-led victories over the past year, according to a release, including successfully stopping an attempted dismantling of the Workplace Safety & Insurance Board's appeals system, and a landmark tribunal decision protecting many migrant workers from WSIB mistreatment.
Speaking on AM800's The Shift with Patty Handysides, Susan Peltier, the Volunteer Secretary for Liz Garant and the Windsor-Essex Injured Workers Group, says for the past 40 years workers and supporters have been coming together.
"Every year injured workers and labour activists gather outside the legislative assembly at Queen's Park in Toronto, and in cities across the process. The Windsor-Essex Injured Workers Group, chaired by Liz Garant, is setting one up for Saturday," she said.
Peltier says the rally is open to the public and they're hoping to see lots of people come out this weekend.
She says on top of recognizing Injured Workers Day, they're also trying to garner some support for a new bill that they hope to eventually get brought to the provincial legislature and passed.
"The Injured Workers Bill of Rights. It was created by injured workers and endorsed by the Ontario Network of Injured Workers Groups and the Ontario Federation of Labour. This bill is demanding the province enshrine basic protections for those who are injured and made ill at work."
She says having people show up to support the rally will be helpful in getting the provincial government to acknowledge the plight of injured workers.
"We're looking to bring some information, there's going to be a few speakers as well we hope. We need to show that injured workers need their support," Peltier said.
The rallies are also serving as a launching pad for ONWIG's ambitious Injured & Ill Worker Outreach Tour, which will visit 25 cities and towns over the next two years to build province-wide connections and strengthen injured worker voices.
- with files from AM800's The Shift