GE retirees decry WSIB roadblocks

A widow whose husband died of cancer after working with toxic chemicals for 42 years at General Electric in Peterborough told a town hall meeting packed with other GE families that every life lost to occupational illness is “wrong.”

“People are dying or have died from working at GE,” said Sara Sharpe. “Someone needs to be accountable .... My husband’s life mattered - and so do your loved ones.”

About 140 people - mostly former GE workers or their relatives - were at the Peterborough Naval Club Wednesday night for the meeting.

It was organized by the Unifor GE Retirees Occupational Health Advisory Committee. The idea was to talk about the recent roadblocks and the successes encountered by sick former workers of GE who seek compensation.

A rash of cancer diagnoses among former GE workers in Peterborough was first noted in the 1990s. Yet over the last 12 years, many workers who made claims to WSIB were turned down.

Meanwhile, new studies have emerged lately to link cancers to industrial toxins once used in the plant.

In September, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) re-opened 250 previouslyrejected cases to examine them in light of the latest scientific evidence.

The review of the 250 cases was three-quarters done as of last week, WSIB reported, and is expected complete in June.

So far, 60 of the 250 previously rejected cases were accepted and a further 66 had their rejections upheld.

One of the newest pieces of scientific evidence linking cancer to chemical exposure at GE was produced locally by retired occupational health researchers Bob and Dale DeMatteo, with help from several GE retirees and sponsorship from Unifor (the union for workers at the plant).

Dale DeMatteo, co-author of the report, spoke at the meeting on Wednesday.

She said the process of applying for compensation is so onerous that she understands why some people say WSIB is an acronym for “Why Should I Bother?”

DeMatteo suggested the group write a “collective letter” to both the provincial government and WSIB detailing how they think the system is “broken.”

“Make it so it meets the needs of workers - not the bottom lines of companies,” she said.