Why June 1st?
On June 1st every year, injured workers and labour activists gather outside the Legislative Assembly at Queen’s Park in Toronto and in cities across the province to mark Injured Workers’ Day. We rally on this day to celebrate the gains made through united action, raise current concerns – and remind governments we cannot be ignored.
Because of COVID-19, the 2020 May 31st Vigil and June 1st events will held indoors and on a variety of online platforms. Please check here for details on how you can participate. We ask you to share this poster (pdf or png) of the Vigil and June 1st widely with your networks.
The history
The day commemorates June 1st 1983 when over three thousand injured workers forced a government committee looking at major changes Ontario’s workers’ compensation system to conduct a public hearing on the steps of the Legislature.
Pressure by the Association of Injured Workers’ Groups (AIWG) had made the the Standing Committee eventually agree to set aside a day of hearings for injured workers to voice their concerns about the Weiler proposals, which included replacing the permanent disability pension with a wage loss system. They came in numbers too large for the Committee rooms, so at the suggestion of the AIWG the hearings were held outside on the lawns of the legislature.
The solidarity and activism of the injured worker movement during the 1983 June 1st event drew public and media attention to their objections to the government’s process of reform.
- Noiles, Willy (ONIWG). 2017 May 30. “June 1st is Injured Workers’ Day.” Rankand File.ca
- Bedard, Ella. 2015 Jun 1. “Injured Workers’ Day: Support Shouldn’t Come in Half-measures.” Rabble.ca
- Rebel Sage. “Justice for Injured Workers – June 1, 2015, Toronto” [4 Youtube video]
- Ontario Federation of Labour. Communications Dept. Injured Workers Day [photo albums and Youtube videos]
- Schwartz, Kristin. 2009. “The Long Road to Justice: Ontario’s Injured Workers and Injured Workers’ Day.” Our Times, 28(2): 16-19
- Injured Workers’ History Project. 2006. Injured Workers’ Day. Toronto: Bancroft Institute (IWHP bulletin, no. 1)
- Union of Injured Workers. 1985. “Now Is the Time!” Injured Workers Voice, May/June: 1-2
IWD 2019 events
Workers’ Comp is a Right! Injured Workers Rally
Saturday June 1st, 2019 in front of the Legislative Assembly, Queen’s Park 11:00 – 12:30
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/587379061788603/
ONIWG News release (May 31 2019) Injured Workers Rally Against Poverty and Privatization
Since being elected just over one year ago, the government and the WSIB have given a multibillion dollar gift to employers in the form of a 30% cut to their premiums – while their bank account continues to bulge, and injured worker benefits go down. Work injury claims are going up while the number of staff WSIB has to help injured workers has gone down. For the 36th year in a row, injured workers and their allies will descend on Queens park during Injured Workers Day to demand fairness from the compensation system.
Please invite your families and friends! Refreshments and games will be provided for children, and the program will include cultural performances alongside messages of solidarity and resistance.
Workers’ comp is a right!
We will not give up the fight!
The Women of Inspiration are hosting their annual vigil on the night of May 31st – all welcome! (see details)