National Day Of Mourning

North Thompson Star/Journal & The Clearwater Times NATIONAL DAY OF MOURNING, Monday, April 28, 2009 1

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TimesNATIONAL DAY OF MOURNING

APRIL 28 • 2009

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Is Today the day you die at work?Over 1,000 Ca-

nadian workers are dying every year.

In Canada, four workers die each day.

The number of people killed at work each year in Canada has risen for the past 15 years.

This is in con-trast to almost every other OECD country where the incidence of workplace fatali-ties is declining.

In 2007, ac-cording to the latest report from the As-sociation of Work-ers’ Compensation Boards of Canada, 1,055 people lost their lives at work. That’s four people every work day. Dead because their workplace was not safe.

Dead because they got injured. Dead because they got cancer. Dead because they were attacked.

Four people every day who never come home again. Dead because their employer failed to ensure they were safe at work. In ad-dition to these work-ers killed at work, there are many oth-

ers where the death goes unreported if they die of a disease unrecognized as an occupational dis-ease.

The need for enforcement

The number and rate of workplace fatalities in Canada, even from accidents, is unacceptably high. We have failed to make progress in reducing the number and rate of work-place deaths.

We have some of the best health and safety laws in the country, yet the number of workers that lose their life continues to in-crease.

In many jurisdic-tions, the monitoring of labour and safety standards has been drastically cut back, or even replaced by “voluntary” industry compliance.

Canada can do much better.

Canada needs to enforce the law and save workers’ lives.

Enough is Enough. It’s time to enforce the law and bring employers who kill to justice.

It’s time for the provinces and terri-tories to appoint spe-cial prosecutors to lay charges against employers when their actions cause death or serious injury. More inspec-tors must be hired to ensure employ-ers comply with the law. It’s also time for all governments to enact new regula-tions that deal with known dangers in today’s workplaces, including workplace violence, exposure to toxins and car-cinogens, repetitive stress injuries and injuries caused by poor ergonomics, workplace harass-ment and stress. Any workplace death or injury is preventable.

Thousands of men and women, some as young as 15, have needlessly had their lives taken over the past 25 years by their em-ployers. How many more of us have to be killed before gov-ernments finally take action?

Day of Mourn-ing Statement 2009 - Is today the day you die at work?

Twenty-five years ago, the

Canadian Labour Congress declared April 28 a National Day of Mourning for workers killed or injured on the job to raise awareness of the thousands of workers whose lives were forever changed by injury and the hundreds who died every year. In 1990, Parliament passed the Workers Mourning Day Act to formally recog-nize April 28 as a “day of mourning” across Canada.

Today, April 28 is observed around the world as a day of remembrance and a day of action to improve workplace health and safety. Unions and workers are leading the way toward stronger laws that force employ-ers to observe better workplace practises. In many countries, lives are being saved from needless ruin as employers com-ply and workplace deaths and injuries decline. Sadly, Canada is not one of those places.

Over the past 25 years, succes-sive governments have pledged their support to workers

and their unions. They announced new workplace health and safety laws and regulations - some of the best in the world. Unfortunately, they have failed to pro-vide the resources needed to enforce those new laws. This is the reason why Canada’s workplaces claim a growing number of lives every year: the laws are not enforced, so reckless employers are allowed to carry on without conse-quence.

Enough is enough! It’s time to enforce the law and bring employers who kill to justice.

It’s time for the provinces and terri-

tories to appoint spe-cial prosecutors to lay charges against employers when their actions cause death or serious injury. More inspec-tors must be hired to ensure employers comply with the law.

It’s also time for all governments to enact new regula-tions that deal with known dangers in today’s workplaces, including workplace violence, exposure to toxins and car-cinogens, repetitive stress injuries and injuries caused by poor ergonomics, workplace harass-ment and stress.

Any workplace death or injury is preventable. Thou-

sands of men and women, some as young as 15, have needlessly had their lives taken over the past 25 years by their employers. How many more of us have to be killed before governments finally take action?

This April 28, remember those whose lives have been taken. Mourn them. Think of the families and friends left behind. Think of the employers who got away with manslaughter and murder. Get angry. Be outraged. Then take action to force the lawmakers and the legislatures to change their ways.

2 NATIONAL DAY OF MOURNING, Monday, April 28, 2009 North Thompson Star/Journal & The Clearwater Times

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APRIL 28 • 2009

Dealing With Workplace SafetyOf all the crises that

managers must deal with in the workplace, accidents and medical emergencies are by far the most common. Many accidents are due to worker error or danger-ous procedures. Howev-er, many other emergen-cies are unavoidable.

In 1993, three profes-sors studied 15 years of OSHA data to determine the most common causes of job-related injuries and fatalities: Robert F. Sherer, James D. Brodzinski and Elaine A. Crable, “The Human Factor,” HRMagazine, April 1993. The most signifi cant factor in inju-ries were employee er-rors, followed by equip-ment insuffi ciencies and procedure insuffi cien-cies. The professors suggested that all three

of these factors could be addressed with better training, and outlined the following steps to help prevent accidents:

* Identify and elimi-nate high-risk activities

* Design jobs with current and anticipated workers in mind

* Tailor safety-train-ing programs to your employees

* Empower employ-ees to engage in accident prevention and job design

* Treat accidents as performance errors

* Establish behavior-based safety-manage-ment programs

* Train supervisors in confrontation-manage-ment skills

* Change mundane routines

* Empower employ-ees to be responsible for

their equipment* Establish an

ergonomic approach to workplace design

* Develop training programs based on behavior modeling

* Develop programs to eliminate workplace illiteracy

* Establish multilin-gual training programs

Once prevention mea-sure are in place, manag-ers should determine what their policy is for dealing with accidents and medical emergen-cies. Once managers create a policy, they should review it with legal counsel and their insurance company.

To help prevent ac-cidents, a safety program should have the follow-ing elements:

* Top management support and involvement

* Job-specifi c pre-employment physicals for certain job classes

* A written policy statement of the com-

pany’s commitment to safety and what the the company expects of its employees, given to all employees

* A safety commit-tee with the power to enforce compliance with

safety rules* Input from line

employees on safety matters

* Regular safety inspections of the work-place

* Realistic goals for

accident reduction, with progress closely moni-tored and reductions rewarded

* Supervisor-level ac-countability for accident reduction

* A modifi ed-duty program to return in-jured employees to work sooner

* Signs, contests, rewards and health fairs to create a heightened sense of safety aware-ness among company personnel

* Training, retraining and more retraining

OSHA requires that fi rst aid be available to workers at all times, ei-ther by having someone trained in fi rst aid on each shift or by being within seven minutes of a hospital. Part of an ac-cident policy should ad-dress how the operation will ensure that someone trained in fi rst aid is working each shift. This person should know what to do in emer-gency situations and also know what NOT to do, because some actions could increase an opera-tion’s liability.

Managers should make sure that an ac-curate record is kept of each accident and medical emergency. A member of management should obtain statements from any witnesses and carefully examine the accident site. If a slip or fall was involved, the manager should ask what type of shoes the victim was wearing, whether the person had any physical disabilities, what the weather was and what the lighting was like. All of this information should be recorded in an incident report. This report can help an operation defend itself against a liability suit in court.

North Thompson Star/Journal & The Clearwater Times NATIONAL DAY OF MOURNING, Monday, April 28, 2009 3

Please work SafeThe TimesNOR TH THOMPSON

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Use safe Use safe work work practices practices and and proceduresprocedures

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www.clearwateremployment.cawww.clearwateremployment.ca

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APRIL 28 • 2009

Slip and Fall Accidents in the WorkplaceHow Small Business Owners Can Protect Themselves from Accidents that Occur in their Place of Business

As a small business owner, there’s no scarier nightmare than a customer or employee being involved in an accident in your place of business. But the nightmare doesn’t end there. The true horror lies in what hap-pens next: receipt of a letter from an attorney or a civil complaint alleging your liability and seeking compensa-tion. But perhaps the true nightmare of it all lies in one simple realiza-tion - the situa-tion might have been prevented or avoided if you routinely followed some standard safety procedures.

The majority of all accidents in the workplace are “slip and fall”. Most of these oc-cur on the same level, while the remaining result

from falls from a height, such as ladders or stairs. To prevent these falls, you first have to understand how they happen. Common causes of slips include oily or wet surfaces, spills, weather hazards and loose rugs or mats. Similarly, “trips” frequently occur in the workplace, mainly caused by obstructed view, clutter, poor light-ing, wrinkled rugs or carpeting, un-covered cables or wires and uneven

steps or walkways.

To prevent many of these slip and fall or trip-ping accidents, make it a habit to walk through your business and check for hazards, such as cracking floors, uneven walkways, obstacles, open file cabinets, etc. Since many ac-cidents occur due to slips or trips, it may be neces-sary to replace or recoat your floor-ing. If walkways are uneven, you might want to

consider replac-ing your entire flooring to create a more even, level walkway. In the absence of a total replacement, you can avoid slippery surfaces by install-ing install mats, abrasive strips or any material that creates fric-tion. Replace any loose or cracking floor tiles, level out any uneven walkways, remove common obstacles placed on the floor, secure all rugs and carpets to the floor, cover

all cords and wires that run across walkways, close any opened doors or cabinets and be sure to replace any light bulbs and faulty switches to ensure proper lighting. Also, make it a busi-ness policy for both you and your employees to clean up spills immedi-ately, clearly mark all wet areas and sweep and mop all debris immedi-ately.

4 NATIONAL DAY OF MOURNING, Monday, April 28, 2009 North Thompson Star/Journal & The Clearwater Times

APRIL 27, 2009

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APRIL 28 • 2009

How to Prevent Workplace AccidentsAccidents occur

for many reasons. Understanding why an accident happens is the first step in prevention.

Unsafe acts cause four times as many accidents and injuries as unsafe conditions. This list will cover seven behaviors that can cause workplace ac-cidents.

Over Con-fidence: Having confidence is a good thing but being over confident can be dangerous. Thinking “it can never happen to me” is an attitude that can lead to im-

proper procedures or methods used while working.

Ignoring Safety Procedures: Failing to observe safety procedures can en-danger all workers. Rules and proce-dures are in place for a reason and it’s important for them to be followed. Hav-ing a casual attitude about safety rules leads to danger.

Shortcuts: As we try to be more efficient we tend to take shortcuts that can lead to unsafe conditions and increased chances for injuries. Will

implementing a time-saving idea compromise safety? Is it worth it?

Not having complete instruc-tions when starting a task: Many times a worker will be shy or intimidated about asking for better instructions and will just try to “wing it” instead of know-ing exactly how to do things correctly. New employee training is a must to prevent accidents. Don’t just assume that everyone knows how to do his or her job correctly.5

Poor House-

keeping: A well maintained work area sets a standard for all. Poor house-keeping creates all types of hazards and sets the stage for accidents. Good housekeeping en-courages pride and a safe environment.

Mental Dis-tractions: Doing a task safely requires mental attention. Things that distract a person from work creates a hazard and can pull focus away from tasks at hand. It’s important to stay focused and leave problems at home. Even casual conversations can be distracting.

Pre-Planning: Not thinking through a process to complete a task can be a hazard. Being hasty and just starting on a job without giving a thought to what how to go about it can be asking for prob-lems. Remember the saying, “Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan.”

April 28 National Day of

Mourning is also

known as Workers

Memorial Day.

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National Day Of Mourning