The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Sherry Gambin-Walsh, Minister of Service NL:
Mr. Speaker, workplace injuries have long-lasting physical and emotional impacts on many individuals and families throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. While the lost-time injury rate at 1.5 per 100 workers is the lowest it has ever been, we know that, in an instant, a person’s life can change forever because of a workplace accident.
Our government is continuing to take important steps toward improving the lives of injured workers in the province. Mr. Speaker, today I will introduce amendments to the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Act which will increase the income replacement rate for injured workers in Newfoundland and Labrador, or their dependents, from 80 to 85 per cent.
The income replacement rate is the percentage of a worker’s pre-injury net income that is covered by the workers’ compensation system. Wage-loss benefits will be calculated at 85 per cent of an individual’s net, after tax, earnings. The individual’s gross income is capped at the Maximum Compensable Assessable Earnings which is $64,375 for 2018.
The increased rate will help improve benefits to injured workers and dependent spouses without increasing the average assessment rate charged to employers. With these amendments, our province will achieve parity with the other Atlantic provinces in calculating wage-loss benefits.
Mr. Speaker, these changes are another step along our path to help reduce the financial, emotional and physical impacts workplace incidents are having on injured workers, their families and their communities.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.