Message from the Board Chair

Our Board of Directors remain committed to maintaining a sustainable workplace injury compensation system for workers and employers in Newfoundland and Labrador. I am pleased to confirm that the Injury Fund remains fully-funded at 119.5 per cent and the lost-time injury rate is at 1.6 per 100 workers.

The no-fault system is funded by employers to provide fair compensation for injured workers. Over the past five years, the average assessment rate paid by employers has been decreasing, primarily due to lower claims costs and positive market returns on investments. For 2018, the rate was lowered from $2.06 to $1.90 per $100 of assessable payroll. On December 4, 2018, we announced a temporary $0.21 discount to address the surplus in the Injury Fund and reduce the average rate to $1.69 for 2019, the lowest rate in over 35 years.

We continue to address current and evolving issues through policy and program improvements to benefit both workers and employers. In 2018, we updated our policy to provide coverage for work-related mental health issues and began wider education initiatives on creating psychologically safe workplaces.

We also consulted with stakeholders on how to make the Prevention Return to Work Insurance Management for Employers/Employees (PRIME) program more effective in improving

occupational health and safety programs as well as return-to-work outcomes.

As well, with input from WorkplaceNL’s Board of Directors and key stakeholders, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador amended the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Act by: increasing the income replacement rate from 80 to 85 per cent of a worker’s pre-injury net income (effective April 1, 2018); introducing new retirement benefits for more injured workers (effective January 1, 2019); and adding presumptive coverage for work-related post-traumatic stress disorder for all workers (effective July 1, 2019).

WorkplaceNL will continue to work with our stakeholders to ensure that the workers’ compensation system responds to the needs of both workers and employers.

I would like to thank our partners in the workplace health, safety and compensation system including: safety sector councils, employer and labour organizations, the Board of Directors, and management and staff of WorkplaceNL for their ongoing commitment to workers and employers in our province.

John Peddle, ICD.D

Chair, Board of Directors, WorkplaceNL