MLA calls for fishing industry to have mandatory WCB insurance coverage
After a North Lake lobster fisher was killed this summer, Green MLA Peter Bevan-Baker is pushing for more to be done to compensate injured workers in the P.E.I. fishing industry. “The nature of the job is such that it’s an inherently very, very dangerous situation,” he said Thursday. “I think there’s a limit to how much can be done. I think absolutely we should be doing everything we can to make sure that conditions onboard boats are as safe as they possibly can be.” But when safety procedures don’t prevent injuries or deaths, fishery workers don’t have the same access to compensation as employees in other sectors, he said. That’s because paying premiums into the Workers Compensation Board (WBC) insurance system is optional for fishing industry employers. Bevan-Baker is calling on the provincial government to change that and make coverage mandatory. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:12
Leave a Reply