ICBC – Workload and Workplace Stress

On September 12^th, we met with Chris Beneteau, Manager, Labour and Employment Law and Joe Moscato, Operations Manager, to share your deep concerns around workload and the associated stress and health issues faced by ICBC staff. No question, the amount of concerned emails and calls we have been receiving about workload has increased dramatically since the implementation of their RAAP plan in March of 2019. We wanted to make sure that what you are saying to us, is also being clearly shared with your employer.

We relayed several messages to ICBC, some related to certain groups of workers and some concerning multiple work groups, however what we hear is that staff across the entire claims division are suffering and action is needed by ICBC right away. Here is what we told them:

• The most concerning issues and so most paramount in our discussions is that the stress and pressures from unmanageable workload demands are taking a toll on the health of their staff. The number of people going off on LTD is increasing and we are hearing more stories of staff breaking down at their desks, or at home, completely overwhelmed and feeling hopeless.
• The work has changed and with it the demands to keep up has changed. Employees are required to do more and more administrative tasks which consume valuable time that should be used on claim handling tasks such as connecting with customers, coverage investigation, liability resolution, injury valuation, and settlement. This seems to be a common thread from all levels of the claims hierarchy. The implications, as you have expressed to us, is that it is leaving customers feeling ignored and the staff to feeling they are being set up for failure. We reminded them that every person at ICBC wants to do their best work every day but they do not feel that is possible in today’s circumstances.
• Our union and members have been overly patient in waiting for a workload study. We made it very clear that we do not want a productivity study that only measures output. Rather, we want a study that measures the actual time it takes to perform the job you have been hired to do. It is important that ICBC understands all the steps and processes you must do each day to move a claim from initial report to closure/settlement. Without such a study, there is no legitimate way for ICBC to determine the number of staff they need to perform the work and meet the needs of British Columbians.
• We shared the results of the Claims Specialists’ caseload survey which clearly pointed out that there is a difference in the risk and complexity of the files depending on where you work. Specifically, we pointed out that Claims Specialists who have been assigned to aligned firms are handling higher risk, more complex files than their fellow Claims Specialists who are not assigned an aligned firm. We told ICBC that they need to figure out how to balance case loads and make sure that groups of workers are not pitted against each other, and that expectations fit the work and not a ‘one size fits all’ approach. The survey results were very helpful in quantifying your concerns and we thank all the Claims Specialists who took the time to complete it.
• We pointed out that since the implementation of RAAP, employees are frequently handling significantly higher caseloads, in some cases, such as the Customer Claims Specialists, more than double since before March 2019. This problem seems to be consistent, regardless of the position, or work done and needs to be fixed right away. We reminded them that they had committed to ensure work distribution was balanced, files were transferred to the appropriate group of workers and that the pain endured from March would be short lived. It is clear that they need a plan on how do deal with caseloads and we have asked that they provide it to us but most importantly with all of you.
• And finally, we asked for a report on their plans for staffing because we know that without adequate staff to do the work, the best laid plans are bound to fail. We have asked them to advise of staffing plans so that you will know if, and when, help is on the way.

To sum up, we made sure ICBC is aware that we know what is going on with the workloads of our members and how it is affecting their mental and physical health. We told them we want to know what their plan is to resolve inequities of caseloads, and what their plans are around meeting staffing needs, currently and in the future.

You work hard and take pride in what you do. You deserve to be supported by your employer so you can be healthy and succeed. We will be following up with ICBC again in the very near future to make sure your concerns are addressed. We want you to continue to send us your comments and most importantly your solutions to us. They can be sent to RAAP@moveuptogether.ca. You warrant better from your employer and we are working with you to make it right.

In solidarity,

Kevin Smyth, Senior Union Representative
Annette Toth, Vice President
Brian Martens, Union Representative
Colin Clark, Executive Board member and Workload Liaison
Bryan Finstad, Executive Board member

File Number: 19-ICBC-BLTN-WORKPLACESTRESS-SEPT13

Union Label: AT:sk usw2009

Reply to: skutay@moveuptogether.ca