Workers traveling out of the province while working for Saskatchewan companies are covered by the province’s Workers Compensation Board if injured on the job.
Georgina Foster, of the board’s revenue and employer accounts, said Saskatchewan workers employed out of the province or out of the country are covered “on an insurance basis only.”
She emphasized that the board handles medical bills, not liability claims.
Saskatchewan companies registered with the WCB must submit a list of workers and the approximate dates they will be out of the province or country.
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Foster said few workers likely review the coverage guidelines before beginning a job, but the information is available from WCB offices in Saskatoon and Regina, at 800-667-7590, 800-667-7580 or www.wcbsask.com.
Charles Jedlicka of Lloydminster said he hurt his back while working on a custom harvesting crew in 1998 in Texas. He believed he was not covered and that the company he worked for was not liable in the event of an accident or injury. He now pays for his own back treatments.
His Saskatchewan-based employer was registered and paying premiums to WCB, but Jedlicka chose not to make a claim.
Employers must file claims within five days of learning of an injury, said WCB’s Janice Siekawitch. Jedlicka’s employer said he did not know about the injury, which Jedlicka said occurred while pulling on a combine’s trailer header.
Siekawitch said workers or their estates have six months from the time of injury or death to file a claim, although forms may still be accepted after that time. Late claims become more difficult to evaluate due to the time and shortage of “fresh medical evidence.”
Most Saskatchewan employers are required to register with WCB, but agricultural businesses are an exception.
“Agriculture is not a mandated industry under the act,” Siekawitch said. She speculated that’s because farming was considered a small operation and not a business when WCB was formed.
However, custom harvesters working in the United States must provide proof to the U.S. labor department that their workers are covered by workers’ compensation insurance.
Workers compensation boards set up in each province cover worker injury claims in Western Canada.
Issues involving working conditions, hours of work and wages are governed by different laws in different jurisdictions — provincial labor laws in Canada and federal and state laws in the U.S.
Jedlicka’s harvesting wages averaged $1,850 a month before deductions, with meals and accommodation provided.
When he factored in deductions, long days and unpaid hours, he said his wages over shorter periods were sometimes as low as $2 an hour.
However on a monthly basis, working 100 hour weeks would have earned Jedlicka $4.60 an hour.
Darren Sander, president of the Association of Canadian Custom Harvesters says wages usually work out much higher once rain delays, other time off, bonuses and food and lodging are factored in.
