Manitoba's Workers Compensation Board opened the doors of its new Brandon office with a ribbon cutting ceremony earlier last week.
The Brandon WCB Regional Office is located in the Renaissance Station building, Unit #1, 457 - 9th Street and will provide full service to workers in Brandon and Western Manitoba. This includes initial adjudication of claims and case management functions. It will also offer a range of services such as healthcare examinations, vocational rehabilitation and SAFE Work services as well as some assessment services. In the past, customers traveled to Winnipeg for these services or Winnipeg staff traveled to Brandon.
The WCB now has three offices in Manitoba, including a head office in Winnipeg and a small satellite office in Thompson that provides initial adjudication of claims and case management services.
Opening a WCB Office in Brandon is something that the Manitoba Federation of Labour, and in particular MFL Vice-President Jan Chaboyer, President of the Brandon and District Labour Council, has urged the WCB to do for a number of years.
MFL President Kevin Rebeck said, "This is good news for workers in Western Manitoba. Their constant point of contact with Workers Compensation is now located in their own community, or closer to it than was the case before today. It is good news for the community as well, since it demonstrates an important commitment by the Workers Compensation Board that it is part of the community fabric and dedicated to the future interests of Western Manitoba workers."