Bonus scheme not a commitment to fairness
Edmonton – Labour Critic Hugh MacDonald says that the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) gives bonuses to employees that reduce the number of Alberta workers receiving benefits and for increasing the number of companies registered in a flawed provincial safety program.

WCB documents provided to the Official Opposition show that the bonus program has been in effect for at least a decade. Each year, WCB employees receive a letter from the President outlining the bonus they’ll get for the last year’s work; a typical bonus can be as high as $5000.

How some bonuses are calculated

• In 2005, a maximum six percent bonus was granted for decreasing the number of claims where time lost from work exceeded six months.
• In 2007, a maximum eight percent bonus was granted for decreasing the number of claims where time lost from work exceeded three months.
• Bonuses were paid to increase the number of expedited surgical procedures.
• Bonuses were paid to sign up companies into improperly monitored safety programs. While millions in rebates were provided to these companies ($71 million in 2009), the government failed to ensure they met all Occupational Health and Safety laws.
• Finally, bonuses were paid to WCB employees for crafting polite “fit to work” letters to injured workers. These letters, of course, often terminated benefits to injured workers.
“This bonus policy completely distorts the objectivity of the WCB,” MacDonald says. “They have a financial interest in reducing benefits to injured workers. How can they be objective about whether or not an injured worker needs benefits when the WCB is offering them bonuses worth thousands of dollars if they reduce the number of Albertans claiming compensation?”

We demand that the Minister of Employment and Immigration, who is responsible for the Workers’ Compensation Act:

• immediately stop the million-dollar bonus scheme;
• identify claim files of injured workers cut off from benefits as a result of this bonus scheme and review their files;
• pay premium rebates only to employers who comply with all safety laws.
MacDonald notes that the WCB’s board of directors voted to remove references to the bonus scheme from their 2009 corporate objectives and performance measures.

“The decision to hide this tells me that the WCB feels a degree of shame about this program, as they should,” MacDonald says. “This bonus program shows that the government is not interested in treating injured workers fairly. The Minister must do the right thing and halt the bonus scheme immediately.”

Attached: Charts showing how WCB bonus system has impacted time-lost claims and Partners in Injury Reduction enrolment
Sample goal sharing letters

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