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P.E.I. farmers face higher WCB premiums

January 6, 2011  By The Canadian Press


January
3, 2010, Charlottetown, PEI – The new year will be less happy for Prince Edward
Island farmers who face higher Workers Compensation Board (WCB) premiums.

January
3, 2010, Charlottetown, PEI – The new year will be less happy for Prince Edward
Island farmers who face higher Workers Compensation Board (WCB) premiums.

That’s
not sitting well with P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture executive director John
Jamieson, who says the increase puts Island farmers’ rates much higher than the
industry pays in other provinces.

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Starting
Jan. 1, changes to the WCB classification system mean rates will be reassessed
and will result in increased premiums for some employers, while others will see
them decrease.

The
federation expects premiums for farmers will go up 20 per cent, which could
cost a medium-sized potato farming operation $2,000 a year in premiums.

Involvement
in the workers compensation program is voluntary for farmers, but the
federation says for those who do opt in, the new rate will be $5.79 per $100 in
employee wages, which is far above the $2.36 per $100 paid in New Brunswick.

Jamieson
says that disparity can only hurt Island farmers.

He
said unlike other industries, farmers aren’t able to pass the increased costs
onto their customers because they have to take whatever price they get for
their product.

Farmers
aren’t the only ones who have raised concerns about the increased premiums,
with the trucking sector also expecting a big jump as its rates increase 70 per
cent.


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