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Manitoba Federation of Labour conducting online survey to assess extent of situation.
Winnipeg (30 Oct. 2009) - The Manitoba Federation of Labour (MFL) is conducting a six-month special project to investigate employer abuse of the workers' compensation system.
"Workers can be coerced, threatened, intimidated, given misinformation and pressured out of utilizing their legislated Workers Compensation benefits," the federation says.
"Often the most vulnerable and already marginalized members of our community - temporary foreign workers, young workers, immigrants, women, disabled and aboriginal workers - are most adversely affected by this practice."
To find out how pervasive this abuse is in Manitoba, the MFL has developed an online survey and is asking employees to take a few minutes to answer three simple questions "that will help the MFL gain a better understanding about instances of employers suppressing WCB claims and improper use of return to work programs.
The results of their findings will be published in a policy paper. All individual responses will be kept confidential.
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The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE
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Manitoba Federation of Labour survey on workers' compensation