April 11, 2008 – Halifax, NS - Workplace injury is a serious issue in Nova Scotia. More than 32,000 workers were injured on the job last year – about 10% of the workforce covered by the Workers’ Compensation Board.

Of those, more than 8,200 people were hurt seriously enough that they were unable to return to work on their next shift – slightly more than the populations of Lunenburg, Digby and Wolfville combined.

In spite of these grim statistics, there were some signs of progress. For the fourth consecutive year, fewer people lost time from work in 2007 and there was a significant reduction in the number of Nova Scotians who died on the job.

The WCB also supports those whose lives are touched by workplace injury by fostering a timely, safe return to productive work. Again, there was progress in 2007 with 51,000 (6%) fewer days lost to injury.

"While we have made some progress, the cost in human suffering is incalculable and the economic and social hardships associated with these injuries are unacceptable," said Chief Executive Officer. Nancy MacCready-Williams in the WCB’s 2007 annual report released earlier today. "Nova Scotians from across the province are responsible for this progress - everyone who stood up for a safety policy in their workplace, everyone who sat on a health and safety committee, everyone who identified a hazard and said that’s not right."

The WCB also played a part in achieving these results. The WCB's prevention initiatives, including advertising campaigns, continued to raise awareness about the human cost of workplace injuries and the WCB encouraged employer cooperation and engagement in developing effective return to work programs.

The WCB's Priority Employer Program, which offers prevention services to targeted workplaces with the most potential to improve their safety and return to work performance, continues to yield positive results. Also in 2007, for the first time and after two years of warning notices, the WCB issued surcharges to 79 employers with claims costs at least 200% worse than their industry peers and another 240 firms were warned that they could face a surcharge in the future if their safety and return to work performance doesn't improve.

The WCB also invested significantly in building its future capacity through the creation of a new service delivery model. When fully implemented, the model will integrate the WCB's three main business divisions and build stronger relationships with workplaces across the province.

Volatility in the investment market and lingering effects of high volumes and long claims from past years resulted in challenging financial results with the WCB reporting a total comprehensible loss of $103 million. "These challenging financial results underscore the importance of our strategy," said MacCready-Williams. "The investment results reflect the inherent volatility in the investment market – one of the many factors that are out of our control. We are continuing to focus on the areas where we can have the most impact – preventing workplace injuries and fostering a safe and timely return to work for those who are injured."

The benefits of a lower injury rate are many. The reduction in human suffering is priceless. Keeping the workforce healthy means less training and replacement costs, lower workers’ compensation premiums and better productivity, leading to good business results.

WCB 2007 YEAR AT-A-GLANCE
(Dollar amounts in millions)

	2007	2006	2005
Number of Claims Registered	32,038	31,810	34,017
Number of Compensable Time-Loss Claims Registered	8,230	8,274	9,046
Duration Index (excluding chronic pain claims in Transition Services, in days)	102	105	114
Duration Index (all claims, in days)	103	107	119
Targeted Average Assessment Rate (per $100 of assessable payroll)	$2.65	$2.65	$2.65
Actual Average Assessment Rate	$2.64	$2.63	$2.63
Total Assessable Payroll (billions)	$8.2	$7.8	$7.6
Total Assessment Revenue	$254.4	$242.7	$240.0
Total Investment Income	$23.2	$135.3	$92.0
Total Administration Costs	$44.1	$43.0	$38.1
Legislated Obligations	$9.2	$8.8	$9.2
Total Claims Costs Incurred	$175.6	$162.9	$152.4
Excess of (Expenses over Revenues) Revenues over Expenses	$(11.8)	$(10.2)	$25.6
Total Comprehensive (loss) income	$(103.5)	$75.6	$22.3
Total Assets (billions)	$1.1	$1.1	$1.0
Total Liabilities (billions)	$1.5	$1.4	$1.3
Percentage Funded Ratio	75.3%	81.2%	76.9%
Timeliness of First Payment to Injured Workers (% of payments made within 15 days of injury – 12 month average)	78.0%	78.3%	79.1%
Injury Frequency Rate (time-loss claims per 100 covered workers)	2.57%	2.61%	2.87%

About the WCB
The Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia (WCB) is committed to keeping Nova Scotians safe and secure from workplace injury. The WCB provides workplace injury insurance for more than 18,000 employers, representing about 300,000 workers across the province. The WCB sets the standard for workplace injury insurance by informing and inspiring Nova Scotians in the prevention of workplace injury. If an injury occurs, we support those whose lives it touches by championing a timely return to safe and healthy work.

Review the 2007 annual report.

For more information contact:

Michelle MacLean
Manager, Communications
w (902) 491-8102
c (902) 240-1755