Windsor WSIB employee feels 'anger,' 'devastation' over redundancy notices

Heather Kitching · CBC News

· Posted: Aug 21, 2026 11:44 AM EDT | Last Updated: August 21

Tears and anger were among the reactions of Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) employees after learning on Wednesday that their positions are being made redundant.

That's according to their union and to a Windsor worker who received a redundancy notice.

Case manager Carla Mallett, who has been with WSIB for the last 26 years, said it was hard to get through the work day after she heard the news.

"Yesterday I was numb the entire day,” she said.

“It was hard to really react and to take it in. I knew that I was angry; the majority of the emotion was anger toward the employer. Today, [I] more feel the devastation to my co-workers.

"I know that I will be OK, but I have guilt because I am going to be OK."

A total of 466 WSIB workers have received redundancy notices, says the Ontario Compensation Employees Union (OCEU). That includes 131 in Windsor.

WSIB says service will continue as it does today

Those employees were given two options: take an exit package or request to move to a location where a WSIB office still exists. The nearest is London. 

The WSIB said service will continue as it does today in Windsor and across Ontario because most claim and account-related services are provided online or over the phone.

“Modernizing our services has included the creation of self-serve online options available 24/7 and the expansion of access to local health care,” the agency said in an email. 

But Mallett said the workload was already intense. 

“At the end of the day, you are feeling drained,” she said.

“We know that injured workers aren't receiving the level of service they deserve. And … getting rid of so many individuals is only going to magnify that.”

The union said there was an understanding after a strike last summer that the workforce needed to increase to handle the workload.

Instead, there were emotional meetings Wednesday where workers were told of the layoffs. 

“And then they just walked away, wouldn't even take a question from those affected,” said Harry Goslin, OCEU president.

'Feeling angry, betrayed'

“It was devastating. It was one of those meetings where you could see the reactions — feeling angry, betrayed, sobbing on camera. Some were so upset they couldn't even reach up to turn off their camera."

The WSIB didn't answer CBC’s questions about how many openings are available at other offices for affected workers to move into.

Mallett said she will be taking an exit package because her family is in Windsor, and she can't stand behind the decisions being made by the WSIB.

• Province-wide WSIB staffing cuts will impact 131 workers in Windsor, union says

• WSIB cuts more than 200 jobs across northern Ontario

She also said she didn’t want to stand in the way of an opportunity for a worker with less seniority.

WSIB is fully funded by individual companies and not by tax dollars. But it is still considered a provincial Crown corporation operating at an arm's length from the government itself.

Windsor's former WSIB office at 2845 Ouellette Ave., permanently closed in 2024. All WSIB employees in the community work remotely.