FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 14, 1998
WCB turns its back on Lethbridge, Red Deer and Grande Prairie
AFL criticizes decision to close three regional offices
EDMONTON – By closing its regional offices in Lethbridge, Red Deer and Grande Prairie, the Workers’ Compensation Board is showing a "shocking disregard" for workers living outside of Alberta’s two major cities, says the Secretary Treasurer of the Alberta Federation of Labour. "This is a real slap in the face for people living outside of Edmonton and Calgary," says Les Steel. "It basically means that injured workers from smaller communities will receive a lower standard of service than injured workers living in the bigger cities. I honestly can’t believe that this is being done. It’s totally unacceptable." Earlier this afternoon, the WCB announced plans to close its regional offices in Lethbridge, Red Deer and Grande Prairie. Once these offices are closed, the WCB will only have offices in Edmonton and Calgary. According to the WCB, the office closures will have little impact on injured workers because individual claims files have always been managed out of either Edmonton or Calgary. But Steel sees it differently. "As it stands right now, injured workers can get a lot done at the regional offices. They can drop off letters and medical reports; they can pick up their cheques; and they can get information on a wide range of issues related to compensation," says Steel. "Now people in the affected communities are going to have to conduct their business by phone or through the mail or they’re going to have to travel to Edmonton or Calgary. Clearly this represents a major reduction in service to WCB claimants." Steel also criticized the WCB for not seeking broad public input on the closures. He says the WCB made no attempts to discuss their plans for more centralized service with the labour movement or any other organizations representing workers. "The first I heard about the closures was in the news release that the WCB issued today," he says. "In it, they try to convince people that the closures are really ‘innovations to the service delivery model.’ How dumb do they think Albertans are?" Steel says that the decision to close the regional offices is particularly galling considering the financial health of the WCB. "The WCB is fully funded. They don’t have any outstanding debt. In fact, they’ve been taking so much money in that they’ve been able to provide employers with millions of dollars in premium rebates. Given this situation, I can’t see any justification for the closures."
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