Opportunities and Challenges

Highlights & Accomplishments

Lost-time Incidence Rate (LTI) Opportunities and Challenges

2. . . . . . . . . .

I XX% WorkplaceNL will continue to support injured workers and their employers by focusing on ways to reduce workplace injury and illness, provide e cient services and manage policies to reduce costs. 2 2 7

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

. , , . . C . C . . C , . C . , , . , C , . C . , , . XX% XX XX%

of workplaces are injury-free 201 workers injured every day (on average) 201

70% Lost-time Incidence Rate (LTIR) PLATEAU per 100 workers of fatalities were the result 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.5 of occupational disease over the past ve years. 243K 239K 236K 233K 224K ANNUAL AVERAGE Reducing injuries and illnesses EMPLOYMENT (thousands) WorkplaceNL works closely with workplaces and safety partners to contain growth in the 2013 20142015 2016 2017 injury rate. In 2017, the LTIR remained stable at 1.5 per 100 workers for the third consecutive year. Over the past ve years, the rate has dropped only slightly from 1.6 to 1.5. Given that the rate has remained stable in recent years, WorkplaceNL recognizes that further reductions in the injury rate will be increasingly challenging to achieve, and will require leadership and collaboration from all workplace parties and safety partners. decline in workplace fatality rate 2007-201

WorkplaceNL and Service NL’s joint ve-year prevention strategy, Advancing a Strong Safety Culture in Newfoundland and Labrador (2018-2022), developed in consultation with safety partners, provides the opportunity for everyone to help protect workers from hazards in the workplace. WorkplaceNL will continue to partner with safety associations, employers, workers, labour groups and employer groups to improve the safety performance at workplaces, within an industry and on a provincial scale.

E ciency in service delivery

In its 2017-2019 strategic plan, WorkplaceNL committed to identify ways to deliver its programs and services more e ciently. There are opportunities to make services more accessible and modern for injured workers and employers. WorkplaceNL is reviewing paper-based processes and using a digital-by- design approach to developing services.

Online services for employers

More employers are using WorkplaceNL’s connect online services to report injuries and RTW activities, but there is still room for improvement: • 36.6 per cent of the Employer’s Report of

Injury (Form 7) were led online in 2017, up from 31.1 per cent in 2016 and 19.5 per cent in 2015. • 47.9 per cent of ESRTW plans were led online in 2017, up from 39.7 per cent in 2016 and 25.3 per cent in 2015.

WorkplaceNL will promote online reporting as the rst choice for conducting business while continuing to provide in-person or telephone services when needed.

Soft-tissue injuries

MSIs, or soft-tissue injuries, continue to represent almost 70 per cent of all workplace injury claims in the province. MSIs include sprains, strains and in ammation of the muscles, tendons, nerves and related soft tissues. WorkplaceNL continues to focus on preventing MSIs, and has developed a new MSI prevention training certi cation standard, including standardized curriculum and educational resources. The voluntary course will be available to supervisors and workers in the province in 2018. Occupational disease

Preventing occupational disease continues to be a priority. Over the past ve years, just over 70 per cent of fatality claims were the result of occupational diseases.

It can take 20 or more years for an occupational disease, including cancers and respiratory illnesses, to present in a worker. Therefore, this will be a challenge for years to come.

WorkplaceNL continues to seek out and rely on the best medical and scienti c information available when adjudicating claims for occupational disease. Dealing with an illness can be a very di cult time for a worker, their family and their community.

There are opportunities to prevent today’s workers from being exposed to substances which lead to known occupational diseases. WorkplaceNL’s focus on educating and creating awareness for preventing known occupational diseases will continue.

Health care costs and access to services

There remain ongoing challenges with timely access to health care services and rising health care costs. In order to control costs, WorkplaceNL has negotiated memorandums of agreement with all major health care provider groups. WorkplaceNL focuses on proactive case management and e ective medical management of claims, and procures medical and health care items through the public tendering process. WorkplaceNL also adheres to the provincial generic drug pricing policy.