Employees with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) are striking locally and across the province.
Workers with the WSIB hit the picket lines on Thursday after months of bargaining that began at the end of February. Dozens of cities across the province have seen employees hit the picket lines including in Windsor, London, Toronto, and Ottawa.
The union has been trying to get the employer to deliver a response on key issues around workload, wages, and union representation.
Employees in Windsor hit the picket line outside of Windsor-Tecumseh MPP Andrew Dowie's office throughout the day on Thursday and they state the support from the local community has been overwhelming.
On Wednesday, the union claimed that WSIB management had failed to come forward with a meaningful offer. However, on Thursday, WSIB stated that they remain at the bargaining table and have not heard from the union since Monday.
Carla Mallett, Appeals Resolutions Officer at WSIB, says the problems go beyond wages.
"We have significant, intrinsic problems in terms of case load, and micro-management. Basically management telling us what to do, what decisions to make, that needs to change. We need more involvement of management in training. The training has declined significantly over the years."
She says they're taking it day by day.
"They're sitting back, waiting for us to do something where it should really be them presenting a better offer to us. We hope that at least through the weekend they engage in negotiation, a proper, respectful negotiation, and we can get back on the job next week - that's our hope."
Mallett says the local support means everything.
"We couldn't be out here without the support of other union employees, in especially Windsor, a union town, it means everything to have that support as we're standing out here. We'll stand out here as long as we need to, to get the result that we're looking for."
Approximately 180 workers in Windsor are on strike, among nearly 3,600 employees across Ontario. This is the first full strike in the history of the agency.
A strike vote held on May 1 saw 96 per cent of members voting in favour of strike action.
The WSIB say they will continue to process claims and pay income support during the strike, with automated systems covering the majority of cases. However, new claims will be prioritized based on urgency.
The WSIB serves more than 5.3 million people in more than 300,000 workplaces across Ontario. They provide wage-loss benefits, medical coverage and support to help people return to the job after an injury or illness happens at work.