(Montreal) The average employer contribution rate to the occupational health and safety plan will drop next year, from $1.50 per $100 of payroll to $1.48, the CNESST announces.
The Standards, Equity, Health and Safety Commission (CNESST) points out that this average rate of $1.48 “is the lowest since the introduction of the Workmen’s Compensation Act and occupational diseases in 1985”.
This reduction in employers’ contributions may seem surprising, given that there was an increase in the number of occupational injuries in 2022. Thus, the CNESST recorded 161,962 occupational injuries in 2022, compared to 105,692 files accepted in 2021 and 104,732 in 2020.
However, a union source argued that these statistics on occupational injuries included several cases of COVID, which helps to qualify the figures.
The CNESST explains the drop in the average employer contribution rate by the good financial health of the plan, sound management and “an effective capitalization rate for ratemaking purposes of 121.6%”.
“Despite the poor performance of the financial markets and the inflationary surge in 2022, the good results of the previous years combined with the favorable evolution of the experience of the compensation scheme have made it possible to lower the rate for a fourth consecutive year” , argues the CNESST.
“The good financial situation of the occupational health and safety plan allows it to ensure the sustainability of the plan and to guarantee its future commitments with regard to workers, but also to better protect employers against excessive fluctuations in the contribution rate in the event of unfavorable returns on the financial markets”, adds the Commission.
SMEs relieved
Be that as it may, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), which represents small and medium-sized businesses, welcomes this reduction in the employer contribution rate, which brings them relief.
“It’s been increasing everywhere, everywhere, everywhere for more than a year for people from SMEs. They have no respite. And there, in 2024, well they will have another reduction in employee contributions to the Occupational Health and Safety Fund. So that’s good news,” commented François Vincent, vice-president for Quebec at the CFIB.