CIWA plays a leading role in coordinating projects designed to prevent workplace injuries and to assist injured workers groups. Some of our most recent projects address such areas as information exchange, leadership training and injury prevention. Details of recent projects are provided below.

Exploring Barriers to & Strategies for Enabling Return to Function/Return to Work (RTF/RTW) for persons with Chronic Disability (2008).

Peer Support Pilot Project (July 1999).

Spreading the Word (Spring 1999).

Speakers Bureau (Spring 1998).

Survivors Forum (Winter 1996-97).

Coming Together - Development and Organizational Capacity-Building Project.

Youth Project.

    Since the Summer of 2005, CIWA has been in partnership with the University of Western Ontario and Dr. Lynn Shaw in a research study. We are looking for participants of injured workers who have a chronic disability, and have been out of the workforce for over two years.

We are beginning the second part of the study this summer (2006). We are now going to be recruiting for part 2 of the study. The process of evaluating the data from Part 1 is under way, and the questionnaire for part 2 is being developed.
Research Process:

complete & return a Consent and Contact Form

participate in a telephone interview

If this situation applies to you and you, or someone you know, would like to participate, please contact us at ciwa@vianet.ca or, you may directly contact
Dr. Lynn Shaw, MSc. OT Reg. (ON) PhD, Principal Investigator for the Study
University of Western Ontario
Phone: 1-519-661-2111, ext 88971.
Toll free: 1-866-876-3124
email: leshaw@uvo.ca

We look forward to hearing from you.

    This project developed a model of peer support that can be used by injured workers groups. Four peer support groups were created with three continuing operation across Northwestern Ontario. We learned about peer support by listening to their experiences at the project's evaluation session in July, 1999. Their progress continues to be closely followed. A model of peer support was developed based on their experiences. This model allows for injured workers groups to meet the adjustment needs of the injured and disabled workers in their communities. The end result was the production of a "how-to" guide, entitled People Helping People, for distribution to injured workers groups. We also intend to produce a video to accompany the manual.

    Project vision:

To expand the participation of injured and disabled workers in local leadership, thereby increasing the effectiveness of our organizations.

To expand our organizational capacity through building support and partnerships.

    This project built on our experiences with the Speakers Bureau Project. One issue arose repeatedly as we talked with people during our Speakers Bureau training sessions, as well as with our member organizations across the country: the lack of support and involvement from local membership in injured workers groups. Leadership in many of our local groups is often in the hands of only a few people, often ending in burnout. As a result, critical skills and knowledge are not passed on to other members in local injured workers groups. This project has sought to address these issues by building our capacity to include more members, by improving the skills of present and future leaders, and by building partnerships in local communities.

    By training some of our present leadership as trainers, our leaders are now able to effectively build the skills of newer members. One of the primary activities of this project was to hold three "Train the Trainer" sessions. During the spring of 1999, these sessions were held in Edmonton, Alberta; Moncton, New Brunswick; and Montréal, Québec. We developed workshops on a number of topics that our new trainers can now deliver in their local areas. One workshop in development, as a partnership with the Canadian Labour Congress, is to train group leaders and union reps to use the video and workbook, "Together We Can Win" to build support for local groups. Workshop and Training packages that these new trainers can deliver include:

Peer helper training.

Leadership development.

Board development.

Survivors Forum.

    Participants of our recent "Train the Trainer" sessions may be available to share the knowledge that they have acquired from their experiences.To find out who may be available to facilitate (or assist you in facilitating) workshops in your area, please contact us.

    This project focused on increasing awareness of the barriers injured and disabled workers face while getting back to work following a workplace accident or disease. In fact, almost 75% of workers with a permanent disability are chronically unemployed. We want to build support to improve these numbers.

    This project was an initiative to build and encourage links between injured workers, their local communities, and the labour movement. During the spring of 1998, three cross-country training sessions in New Brunswick, Ontario and Alberta resulted in a total of fifty-three individuals being trained to deliver short (approx. fifteen minute) presentations to interested groups and organizations. The focus of the presentation they were trained to deliver is returning to work after injury, but many have since been delivering presentations on various topics of interest to injured workers groups.

Group Photo of Speakers Bureau Participants

    If you are interested in finding out more about this project and/or having one of our trained presenters at your meeting, check out our "Returning to Work" pamphlet in the merchandise section for more details.

    Nine Survivors Forums were organized in seven locations across Northern Ontario during the winter of 1996-97. The presentations began with a sixteen minute video presentation of disabled workers and their family members talking about their experiences, providing an opening for participants to discuss their own experiences afterward. The format, a round table discussion, resulted in the sharing of personal experiences with workplace disability, injury, and disease.

    The round table model was unique in that it used the traditional native discussion technique, the talking stick. This method requires that each person speaks in turn without any questions, comments or opposing statements from others. As a result, group members are able to concentrate on listening to and hearing from their fellow participants. Many local groups in Northern Ontario are now using this technique, and as a result, membership and community support have increased.

    If you are interested in organizing your own community forum, an excellent tool is our workbook and video package entitled "Survivors". Visit the merchandise section for more details on this package.

    This project is being designed to address the barriers that exist to forming provincial injured and disabled workers groups. The vision of the project is to share the experiences that many have gained from creating provincial organizations in the past. In order to accomplish this, we will be interviewing 50 people from across Canada who have experience in attempting to organize on a provincial level. Their successes and failures will be recorded, and will be included in the production of a "how to" manual on provincial organizing. The manual will then be used as we travel across the country, holding meetings in each province where no provincial organization of injured workers exists. At these meetings, we will share the benefits and advantages of working together in order to improve conditions for injured and disabled workers. Meetings are scheduled to take place in British Columbia, Alberta, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. Throughout the project, support from organized labour and disability groups will be sought. Follow-up may include further support for local efforts to move toward forming provincial organizations.

    What is the need for a Youth Project? Significant barriers (such as poor or limited access to information and support) exist for youth dealing with workplace injuries, diseases, and/or disabilities. Therefore, improving access to information and creating support systems are important issues to be addressed by this project.

    Other barriers to be addressed by a Youth Project:

The public perception that "youth" injured at the workplace are not really injured workers. Since many young people may not yet be supporting families or working at a career, the perception exists that injuries at this time are insignificant.

That communities do not recognize the anguish experienced by a young person injured, diseased, or disabled as a result of a work accident. Their frustrations and experience are unique to their stage of life. Often such experiences as financing post-secondary education, travel, buying a first home, or participating fully in extracurricular events become impossibilities for injured and/or disabled youth. Young workers unable to return to their pre-accident job may experience a severe loss of self-esteem, depression, and/or anger at not being able to work during the prime of their lives.

The difficulties experienced by a young injured workers' family (parents, siblings) are often ignored. The financial, emotional, and physical demands of living on their own may become too much for many youth with workplace injuries and/or disabilities. Family members may find them living at home for much longer than they had expected.

The lack of resource material geared specifically to youth. Information on workplace injuries, disabilities, return to work initiatives, compensation and support systems specific to young adults must be made available.

Prevention is another focus of this initiative. In 1995, seven workers (ages 15 to 24) were killed on the job; 100 lost an eye, an arm or a leg, and 18,000 others were injured in some other way. A project such as the one we are proposing needs to draw the attention of youth to these issues. Hopefully, the result would be a lowered number of young people suffering from workplace-related injuries and diseases.

    What needs to be included in a Youth Project?

Education, including material focusing on prevention and safe workplace practices, is necessary. What are the worker's rights and responsibilities?

For those injured or experiencing workplace disease, what are their rights and responsibilities in terms of compensation and returning to work? Support must be provided.

For young people that may find themselves in the position of employer, what are the employer's rights and responsibilities? How can they provide healthy and safe work places to their employees and how can they best deal with injured and disabled workers? Many large employers have Health and Safety programs, but unfortunately, smaller employers often don't have the same resources or priorities. Young people most often start out working with smaller employers.

    We believe this initiative is important because as a society, we benefit from the working contributions of our members, including our youth. Increasing numbers of young adults with workplace injuries, diseases, and/or disabilities, experiencing a lack of support, will result in socioeconomic costs to all of us. We have a responsibility to provide our youth with the tools they require to take care of themselves before, during, and after workplace injury or disease. Before - by preventing accidents through education about the workplace. During - by being aware of their rights and responsibilities, knowing where to find support, and working together for change. After - by learning how to return to work after being injured, integrating back into the community, and finding continual support.

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