It can change everything.
A workplace injury or illness can cause physical, emotional, financial, and psychological upheaval. Injured workers can face months and sometimes years of uncertainty. Medical appointments pile up. Economic hardship can ensue, and chronic pain can become part of everyday life for a worker who has been injured on the job. Navigating workers’ compensation or disability systems can be incredibly frustrating. Some workers are pressured to return to work before they’re ready. Many injured workers feel ashamed of their physical limitations and reduced income. Workers who experience psychological workplace injuries are often perceived as weak or unreliable.
At the MFL Occupational Health Centre, we see every day how deeply workplace injuries and illnesses affect not just individual workers, but also their families, workplaces, and entire communities. The physical, emotional, and financial toll can be overwhelming, and too often, injured and ill workers are left to navigate these challenges alone.
You may have heard recently that the Province of Manitoba has proclaimed June 1, 2025 as Injured Workers Day in Manitoba. This is an important moment in our province for workers and working families. OHC will be leading efforts to commemorate this day in our province moving forward.
We want to thank the provincial government and Minister Marcelino for listening to workers and pledging to continue working collectively to eliminate workplace injury, illness, and suffering across the Province of Manitoba.
What is Injured Workers Day and why is it important?
Injured Workers Day is observed on June 1st each year in Canada. It began in 1983, when injured workers and their allies gathered at Queen’s Park in Toronto to protest proposed changes to workers’ compensation that would have made life even harder for those already struggling. In May of 2008, the Canadian Labour Congress adopted a resolution to proclaim June 1st a Canada-wide day of action to intensify the struggle for justice for all injured workers.
Recently, Ontario became the first province to officially recognize June 1st as Injured Workers Day. Injured Workers Day provides an opportunity to shine a light on the real, human impact of workplace injuries and illness, and it pushes for change in systems that often overlook or mistreat the very people they are supposed to protect.
Why is this important in Manitoba?
25,000 Manitoba workers were injured on the job in 2024, and there were 20 workplace-related deaths. The actual number of workers affected is likely higher than reported, as the time-loss injury rate only reflects reported claims from covered industries. It does not account for injuries in sectors that are not covered, nor cases that go unreported due to claim suppression. The rising rate of workplace injuries in health care and public services is especially concerning.
Every worker has the fundamental right to come home safe and whole at the end of the day. Yet for too many families, that right is shattered by workplace injuries, illness, and fatalities – tragedies that are often entirely preventable. These aren’t just unfortunate accidents, they’re real failures in safety, oversight, and sometimes accountability.
When a worker is killed or seriously injured on the job, the impact is profound and far-reaching: families lose loved ones, communities lose valued members, and futures are altered in an instant.
What unique challenges do marginalized groups face in the aftermath of workplace injuries?
Equity-deserving groups—particularly newcomers—are especially vulnerable to the impacts of workplace injuries. Limited English proficiency can make it difficult for many to understand their rights, complete necessary forms, or advocate for themselves effectively. Newcomers often have limited knowledge of the workers’ compensation system, including how to file a claim or the importance of promptly reporting injuries. Migrant workers face additional barriers to accessing healthcare and workers’ compensation benefits. Immigrants and refugees are disproportionately represented in low-wage, high-risk sectors such as construction, manufacturing, and agriculture—industries that frequently lack strong union protections. As a result, many workers fear retaliation or job loss for reporting injuries. Precarious employment is also more prevalent among marginalized populations, including racial and ethnic minorities, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, immigrants, and people with disabilities. These groups are more likely to experience insecure and unstable work, which, as scholars argue, constitutes an occupational hazard in itself.
What challenges do injured and ill workers face when returning to work?
Injured and ill workers encounter a range of obstacles when attempting to return to work, including physical limitations such as chronic pain, emotional barriers like fear of re-injury and diminished confidence, and workplace challenges such as inadequate accommodations. These difficulties are often intensified for individuals in precarious employment. As Dr. Ellen MacEachen highlights, return-to-work policies and procedures are frequently not designed to meet the needs of precariously employed workers, making their reintegration into the workforce particularly challenging.
Additionally, workers returning to the job after an injury or illness often face stigma in the workplace. They may be seen as less capable, and some co-workers or employers may wrongly assume they are exaggerating or faking their condition. As a result, returning workers can experience social isolation. Many also internalize these negative attitudes, leading to feelings of guilt, shame, and fear. Stigma related to mental health can be even more severe, as psychological injuries are often misunderstood or dismissed. Mental illness is still wrongly associated with instability or incompetence, which can make it harder for affected workers to be taken seriously and supported.
What will Injured Workers Day mean for Manitoba?
OHC is proud to lead provincial efforts to recognize Injured Workers Day on June 1. Here is what those efforts will look like moving forward.
We must amplify the voices of injured and ill workers, including racialized workers, migrants, low-wage earners, and those in precarious employment. Advocacy must remain grounded in lived experience. Policy solutions must be shaped by the people most affected.
Manitoba’s workers deserve robust and comprehensive health and safety legislation that truly protects them, regardless of the sector they work in, their employment status, or their ability to navigate complex systems.
On Injured Workers Day, we will also recognize the need for a workers’ compensation system in Manitoba that truly serves the people it was designed to protect. Injured workers deserve a system that is responsive to their needs, clear in its processes, and fair in its decisions. Unfortunately, too many workers face long delays, unclear communication, and outcomes that do not reflect the realities of their injuries or struggles.
This day is an opportunity to celebrate the hard-won improvements in workplace health and safety achieved through collective action, bring attention to the ongoing struggles that injured workers face, and remind governments that injured and ill workers must not be overlooked or forgotten. Injured Workers Day is a time for us to come together, raise our voices, and continue advocating for the changes needed to protect and support all workers. Every worker deserves to be treated with dignity, fairness, and respect—especially after experiencing a workplace injury or illness. Justice for injured workers is not just a workplace issue; it’s a human rights issue. No one should be left behind because they were hurt on the job.
Let’s stand in solidarity and continue pushing for a system that prioritizes people and ensures every worker receives the support and justice they deserve.