The town of St. Paul has reduced its Workplace Compensation Board (WCB) premiums over the past few years by improving workplace safety and introducing operational changes aimed at reducing staff injuries.
In 2020, the town paid over $111,000 in WCB premiums, but by 2023 that number dropped to just under $42,000. The current premium for 2025 is around $59,000. CAO Steven Jeffery said the premiums vary depending on factors like employee salaries, lost time claims, and the severity of those claims over the previous four years.
One key change was modernizing garbage collection. Before 2020, public works staff were being injured while manually lifting heavy and sometimes hazardous garbage bags into the truck. The town switched to a safer method where the garbage truck now does the lifting, requiring only one staff member to operate it.
Jeffery said the change has improved safety and maintained service levels. He assed that learning from incidents is crucial to workplace safety. “Even something like slipping on ice might seem straightforward, but looking deeper, the root cause might be improper footwear,” said Jeffery. “We want to investigate not just the immediate cause but what allowed it to happen.”
The town’s modified work program has also helped keep premiums down by allowing injured employees to stay engaged at work while recovering.
Jeffery said this often includes training or updating safety procedures. “Keeping people involved helps them heal and return to full duties faster,” he said.
Ultimately, Jeffery said the goal is to ensure staff understand the risks of their jobs, receive the training they need, and that any incidents are properly reported and analyzed to help prevent future injuries.
