For the fourth year in a row, Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) premiums are heading down.

The board announced its schedule of employer premiums for 2020—the first year under the new rate-framework model—at its annual general meeting on September 25. The average premium rate has been reduced by 17 percent. This represents a premium decrease from a Schedule 1 average rate of $1.65 on every $100 of insurable payroll in 2018 to an average of $1.37 in 2020.

Contributing to this decrease was the decision to eliminate the Past Claims Cost component of premium rates. Labour Minister Monte McNaughton made this announcement on September 24, and the WSIB backed up this decision with the message that its operations are now better than 110 percent funded, and the board operates a reserve of more than $3.2 billion. The board indicated it was also able to lower administrative and new claims costs for the 2020 premium year.

Since 2016, the average premium rate has dropped nearly 47 percent.

"Eliminating our unfunded liability last year paved the way for us to implement a new premium rate-setting model that levels the playing field, boosts fairness and increases transparency," said WSIB chair Elizabeth Witmer. "We are pleased that we have been able to help more people recover and return to work while reducing premiums for Ontario businesses."

The WSIB also announced that its Maximum Insurable Earnings Ceiling for 2020 increased to $95,400, compared to $92,600 in 2019. Changes to the ceiling are directly linked to changes in average earnings in Ontario as measured by Statistics Canada, and provisions under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act.

Construction rates drop nearly 20 percent

Under the new rate framework model, construction companies are now grouped into five classes—rather than 13 rate groups. In 2019, the average premium paid across the 700-series rate groups, those to which most construction companies belonged, was $3.32. For 2020, the average premium rate for construction’s five classes has dropped 19.6 percent to $2.67.

• G1        Building Construction  $2.30
• G2        Infrastructure Construction    $2.31
• G3        Foundation, Structure and Building Exterior Construction    $4.45
• G4        Building Equipment Construction       $1.84
• G5        Specialty Trades Construction            $2.47

Individual companies’ premium rates will vary based on their claims experiences. Employers can login to WSIB’s online services to see their particular premiums for 2020.

WSIB announces HSEP and new online services

Premium rates weren’t the only announcement that made news at WSIB’s AGM. The board announced that it will launch is new Health and Safety Excellence program in November. Details of the program have not yet been announced, but it is expected to replace the Safety Groups program, and help employers improve their health and safety records with a view to lowering their premium rates.

The board also announced details of a number of online services that will help employers see their premium rates and claims and costs data, and will help anyone report injuries or illnesses, upload claim-related documents, make premium payments, and register new businesses.

"Our focus now is on improving service for people and making Ontario a safer place to work," said WSIB president and CEO Thomas Teahen. "Today we announced new online services and a new Health and Safety Excellence program to help thousands of Ontario businesses become even better places to work." 

The Ministry of Labour has announced a series of workplace safety blitzes aimed at all sectors—and in particular at workers in the construction sector.

Beginning October 1, and through December 27, inspectors will conduct focused inspections for practices that could lead to musculoskeletal disorders and respirator hazards. Construction will be one sector particularly targeted for these site visits.

According to statistics from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, musculoskeletal disorders are the most-reported lost-time injury. In 2017, workers reported more than 19,000 claims, and 462,000 lost days of work—or approximately one-third of all accepted lost-time claims at the WSIB.

Starting in January of next year and through to mid-March, inspectors will target personal protective equipment. Specifically, they will look for the lack and misuse of personal protective equipment such as foot, eye, hearing and respiratory protection devices.

A similar inspection blitz in 2017 resulted in nearly 7,500 orders issued for lack of personal protective equipment on projects. This was the second highest violation in construction workplaces for 2017.

By law, personal protective equipment should be provided to workers wherever there are health or safety risks that cannot be adequately controlled for in other ways. Personal protective equipment can include: respiratory protection devices, hearing protectors, skin protection, high-visibility clothing, face shields and eye protection.

Inspectors will focus on checking that appropriate personal protective equipment is being supplied and worn.

Labour Minister Monte McNaughton announced on September 24 that the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) will eliminate its unfunded liability charge beginning January 2020. The change is expected to reduce the overall cost of insurance premiums to Ontario businesses by $607 million.

"This is good news for employers and employees across the province," said McNaughton. "This money will lead to investments in new jobs, technology and health and safety programs."

The news comes on the cusp of the WSIB’s annual general meeting, and an expected announcement of employer premium rates under the new rate framework system.

Last September, the board announced that it had retired its unfunded liability, which ballooned to as high as $14.2 billion in 2011. Since that time, the board took aggressive measures—mandated by the provincial government—to eliminate its operating deficit. It did so nearly 10 years ahead of its mandated schedule. In so doing, the WSIB was able to reduce employer premiums by an average of 30 percent for 2019.

The unfunded liability charge—also known as the Past Claims Cost—has since 2010 been one of four pillars on which employer premiums were set, and the greatest contributor to retiring the board’s operating deficit. Other premium components included claims costs, gain or loss components, and WSIB administration expenses.

In 2019, the PCC represented approximately 13 percent of employers’ total average premium rates of $1.65. The  PCC was significantly reduced for 2019 premium rates, and will be eliminated for the 2020 premiums. Doing so will allow the WSIB to reduce employer premiums for the fourth year in a row.

"Today’s announcement marks a significant achievement,” said Ian Cunningham, president and COO of the Council of Ontario Construction Associations. “The WSIB’s unfunded liability served as a red flag to investors looking for a place to build office towers, commercial facilities, factories and warehouses and create jobs, warning them of the burden of future increased taxes."

Minister McNaughton made the announcement at a job site operated by Eastern Construction, which has pledged to give WSIB premium reductions back to employees. Eastern's 130 employees each received a cheque worth on average $600 from their employer last year.

"A good safety record saves lives and money," said Bryan Arnold, president and CEO of the construction firm. "So we want to do everything we can to encourage our employees to keep our sites safe. This was a common-sense move for us."

A new documentary series takes viewers behind the scenes at massive excavation and drilling projects in Alabama, Wisconsin and Toronto.

If you haven’t seen “Six Figures, No Suits”, you’ll want to take a look. The three-part documentary series takes a look at three large North American drilling projects (including Mirvish Village in Toronto). It takes viewers behind the scenes with detailed interviews with site staff to experience life working with heavy equipment on massive construction projects.

The series is produced by the Construction Channel, a 24-hour construction media network that focuses on construction industry news, markets and materials, stories and people. The group’s mission is to provide a new way for those outside the industry to see the complex inner workings of this industry.

Episode 1 of “Six Figures, No Suits” takes viewers to Auburn, Alabama where crews are deploying drilled shafts technologies to create deep foundations for a condo building. The episode looks at the advances in shaft technology in the past 150 years, and demonstrates how a four-foot wide auger uses more than 100,000 ft lbs of torque to drill shafts up to 200 feet deep.

Episode 2 travels to Wisconsin where crews are stabilizing the Prairie Du Sac Dam. The crew is installing nearly 1,000 micropiles to save the dam from catastrophic failure due to rotting wood timber.

In Episode 3, the crew is onsite at Mirvish Village in Toronto. Construction teams are drilling deep holes to shore up the walls in a huge excavation project. 

“Six Figure, No Suits” was produced by the Construction Channel in conjunction with the Association of Drilled Shaft Contractors (ADSC) and the International Association of Foundation Drilling (IAFD) as a way of raising awareness about the variety of careers available to young workers in the foundation drilling industry. Since its release, “Six Figures, No Suits” has won several awards, including the Grand Prize at the 2019 New Media Film Festival, Best Web Series at the 2019 Olympus Film Festival, and the Best TV Pilot at the 2019 United States Film Festival.