Young people aged 14 and 15 in Saskatchewan who are looking for a summer job should be aware that they must complete the Young Worker Readiness Certificate Course (YWRCC) and print out a certificate before taking any job.

Such young workers can apply for and interview for jobs before completing the certificate, but the certificate must be presented to their boss by their first day of work. Employers are required to keep a copy of the certificate in their files for every one of their employees in that age group.

Young workers under 16 must also have the consent of their parent or guardian, are not allowed to work after 10 p.m. on a school night, and cannot work more than 16 hours during a school week.

The YWRCC, which was launched in February 2010, has been completed by more than 5,600 young people to date. A number of schools throughout the province have incorporated the YWRCC materials into their curriculum. The purpose of the YWRCC course materials is to make young workers aware of their rights and responsibilities in the workplace.

The YWRCC course materials are available in French and English at www.lrws.gov.sk.ca/ywrcc. The English version of the test can be completed and submitted online. The French version, however, can be requested from Labour Standards to be completed on paper.

In British Columbia, Fraser River Pile & Dredge (GP) Inc. has been fined $140,000 in Surrey Provincial Court, for charges filed under the Canada Labour Code in connection with the July 2009 death of a company worker.

The judgment, which will be paid in six quarterly installments, was rendered on March 15, but the details were only made public last week.

The incident that led to the charge occurred on July 9, 2009. The worker was working on a routine painting job on a cutter-section dredge and, according to court documents, he placed himself in an area where he was at risk of being pinned and suffocated by a piece of machinery, which led to his being crushed by a hydraulic counterweight.

As he announced his sentence against Fraser River Pile & Dredge, Judge R.D. Miller, noted the company pleaded guilty to failing to install guards, guardrails, barricades and fences on the starboard side of a dredge, “the direct result of which was” Sigmund’s death. He also noted “the corporate defendant was not vigilant in assessing their workplace for safety violations.”

“They are justifiably proud of aspects of their corporate behaviour as regards (to) worker safety,” he added, “but it was not enough and a good man died.”

Judge Miller also took into account the steps taken by the company to immediately identify and rectify the deficiencies that led to Sigmund’s death, including their full cooperation with the investigation into what happened. He noted that imposing a monetary penalty in cases where someone has died “always seems to me to be bordering upon disrespect,” but that the $140,000 penalty is “a fit sentence.”

The maximum penalty Miller could have imposed was $1 million.

Canada is on the verge of becoming the first country in the world to develop a national set of standards designed to protect workers from what they consider to be mental health injury in the workplace.

Mental health issues have been cited as the leading cause of short and long-term disability, affecting one in five workers. Nearly a quarter of Canadian workplaces have been deemed “psychologically perilous,” and a number of federal and corporate officials have provided up to $470,000 in funding to the Mental Health Commission to establish a voluntary set of best practices that could lead to improvements in workplace mental health.

The loss of work days and other disruptions to workplaces caused by mental health issues are estimated to cost the Canadian economy more than $50 billion a year. In the last five years alone, there has been a 700% increase in court-ordered damages awarded for workplace mental health injury. The recognition by the courts of a serious problem coincides with studies characterizing between 10 to 25% of workplaces as “mentally injurious.”

The National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety will be voluntary for employers to adopt, and will provide them with tools to help with implementation.
The federal funds are being provided by Human Resources, Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada. Beginning this fall, there will be a 60-day public consultation and it is hoped that standards will be ready for employers sometime next year.

A 35-year-old mine worker was killed in a workplace accident deep underground at Mosaic Co.’s Colonsay, Saskatchewan mine last week.

According to reports, the man was driving down a mine corridor when his vehicle flipped, which caused him to sustain serious injuries. Shortly after paramedics arrived on the scene at about 11:30 am, he was pronounced dead.

The mine site shut down operations following the incident, and Saskatchewan Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) investigators were at the mine by 1 pm, where they remained for most of the afternoon. Investigators plan to look at whether everyone involved was following OHS regulations, and say their examination of the incident could take three months. The provincial coroner is also assisting the investigation.

The United Steelworkers union also plans to aid in the investigations, due to their concern over the fact that five Steelworkers have lost their lives on the job over the course of three weeks – two in forestry and three in mining.

Ontario’s Labour Minister used an appearance last week at the Chrysler Assembly Plant in Windsor to announce that the Ministry will continue to send health and safety inspectors into workplaces all over the province as part of a four-month safety blitz with a focus on protecting young workers. The blitz officially kicked off May 1, but it will continue all summer.

He chose the Chrysler plant for his announcement because of its excellent safety record. The plant employs 4,500 people on three shifts, making 1,475 minivans each day. That number includes nearly 400 younger summer replacement workers who, according to statistics, are nearly four times more likely than other workers to be injured on the job, often within their first month of employment. The Chrysler plant has defied those odds, however.

This latest initiative comes as a large number of high school and post-secondary students hit the summer job market, often performing dangerous work for which many may not be prepared. Regardless of their previous experience, or lack of, employers are obligated to protect them.

One key focus of the blitz will be to inform young workers that they have the right to training, the right to safety and hazard awareness, and the right to turn down unsafe work.

The ministry has charged 400 inspectors with conducting this safety blitz and enforcing the Occupational Health and Safety Act. In 2009, 7,527 young people were hurt on the job, with four dying from their injuries. Though that number was down nearly 30% from the previous year, the Ministry feels there is a lot more to do to protect them. Between 2004 and 2009, 466 young workers were critically injured on the job, with 27 of them dying as a result.

In the last few weeks, there have been at least two serious accidents involving young people texting while driving, and officials are anxious to remind people of the danger involved, as well as the possible hit to your wallet that could occur if you’re caught.

According to police, last week a 17-year-old girl from Barrie, Ontario was simultaneously texting, trying to pick up her cat and speeding on Raquel Street, when she lost control of her car and hit a vehicle that was parked in a driveway. The vehicle she hit was pushed into a boat, and the boat crashed into the house and another vehicle. All told, the extensive damage was estimated at about $100,000. In addition to texting while driving, the girl, who sustained minor injuries in the accident, was charged with careless driving.

In another such accident a couple of weeks ago, police say a Pembroke teen was texting while driving just before he crashed head-on into a tractor-trailer and was killed on Highway 17 near Mattawa.

Police throughout the province say there are still too many people attempting to text while driving, and there have been a large number of close calls and outright tragedies as a result. This despite the fact that such activity has been illegal since 2009.

If you are caught texting while driving in Ontario, the fine is $155, although you receive no points against your license. However, if you do additional damage, or if circumstances lead police to add charges of careless or dangerous driving, the fine could be much higher. The 17-year-old girl in the above accident is facing up to $500 in potential fines, for example.

In Ontario, it is only legal to use hands-free devices. Police, fire and ambulance services are exempt from the hand-held requirement. But the only time any other driver is allowed to hold a cell phone in their hand is when they’re calling 911, although officials would prefer they pull over to make those calls, as well.

According to experts, drivers who use hand-held devices are four times more likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. According to a study by the University of Utah, the use of a hand-held cell phone delays a driver’s reaction time as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at .08 percent, which is the legal limit in most jurisdictions.

Stay safe; if you have to text, pull off the road.

A Concord, Ontario-based curtain wall assembler, Zimmcor, Inc., was fined $50,000 last week for two violations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, as a result of an accident in which a worker was seriously injured.

Workers were attempting to move a cart holding several 22-foot-long aluminum extrusions on January 23, 2009, after that cart became wedged between several others. One worker was positioned between the cart they were trying to move and another cart, and as he pushed on the wedged cart, other workers were pulling. As they did so, the cart tipped over, causing the load to fall on and fracture the pushing worker’s leg. When a co-worker tried to limit the damage by attempting to remove adjacent bundles of extrusions with a forklift, the forklift accidentally touched the cart and more extrusions fell on the injured worker’s leg.

An investigation by the Ministry of Labour determined that the extrusions were not properly balanced or secured on the cart. An inspector examined the workplace on January 26, 2009, and also observed that shields on a double-bladed chop saw were tied with metal holdbacks, which rendered the shields ineffective as a means of protecting workers from the hazards posed by the saw’s moving blades.

Zimmcor Inc. pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the load being transported, placed or stored would not tip, collapse or fall, and to ensure that the load could be removed or withdrawn without endangering the worker. The company also pleaded guilty to failing to take the reasonable precaution of ensuring that the shields on a double-bladed chop saw were not rendered ineffective by metal holdbacks.

As a result of these guilty pleas, Zimmcor Inc. was fined $45,000 for the count that led to the worker’s injury, and $5,000 for the charge related to the chop saw. The fine was imposed by Justice of the Peace Malik Asad, who also imposed a 25% victim fine surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.

According to the latest WorkSafeBC report, four Vancouver Island companies have been fined by WorkSafeBC for unsafe working conditions or practices, including several that didn’t necessarily end in injury or tragedy.

The largest of the fines was the $15,000 assessed on Dogwood Street 7-Eleven Canada Inc in Campbell River for what they referred to as “numerous health and safety violations.” The report noted that the business had failed to ensure that records of worker injuries and exposures were kept on site; that it had failed to provide appropriate emergency washing facilities for workers who may have been exposed to harmful materials; and that it failed to provide proper instruction to its workers as to how to report and document incidents of workplace violence.

Cei Industries Ltd., also of Campbell River, was fined $5,373 for allowing its staff to work too close to live high-voltage power lines. WorkSafeBC said the company allowed work to continue on a structural steel building that was too close to live power lines, in violation of the requirement to maintain the minimum applicable distance between workers and live high-voltage equipment and conductors.

The agency also fined Coast Outdoor Advertising of Ladysmith $7,844 after one of its workers was severely burned and fell 8.5 metres, after a metal rod he was using came into contact with a live overhead power line.

In addition to those fines, Arbutus Environmental Services was fined $13,109 for not properly training a driver.

WorkSafeBC intends for its administrative penalties for health and safety violations to motivate as many employers as possible to comply with the Workers Compensation Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. They consider such fines when an employer commits a violation resulting in high risk of serious injury, serious illness, or death, is caught with several violations, fails to comply with an order within a reasonable amount of time, or demonstrates reckless disregard for regulations.

Bill 160 was approved by unanimous vote on May 18, after months of debate and consultation, which means more than 100,000 Ontario businesses will have to change their approach to workplace health and safety training. The Occupational Health and Safety Statute Law Amendment Act will take full effect when it achieves Royal Assent, which could happen as soon as next month.

As the law currently stands, employers and contractors in Ontario with more than five but fewer than 20 employees are required to appoint a Health and Safety Representative, but there is no mandate for formal training. With Bill 160, businesses in that category will now have to make sure their Health and Safety Representative is properly trained and certified. In addition, those workplaces with 20 or more employees must have at least two employees who have successfully completed Joint Health and Safety Committee Certification Training, with one representing the workers, and the other representing the employer.

The new law also takes the responsibility for workplace injury prevention away from the WSIB and gives it to the Ministry of Labour. It establishes the position of a provincial Chief Prevention Officer, as well as a Prevention Council, composed of representatives from trade unions, provincial labour organizations, employers, the WSIB and persons with health & safety expertise, who will work with the Ministry of Labour to develop a comprehensive occupational health and safety strategy and determine training standards.

In addition to those changes, Bill 160 also contains increased provisions designed to prevent reprisals for workers who report safety infractions to the Ministry of Labour.

Alberta provincial officials are concerned by what many perceive as abuse of a voluntary safety accreditation program that entitles employers to earn rebates on their Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) premium and to bid on lucrative government contracts. To that end, the provincial government has announced that, beginning July 1, companies holding Certificates of Recognition (COR) will have to start explaining why they still have accidents and fatalities. Last year alone, 9,000 companies received CORs that entitled them to $77 million in WCB rebates.

Going forward, provincial officials will conduct reviews as soon after a workplace incident as possible. They will also change the COR program to include an employer review process if there is a fatality, serious injury or incident; if two or more stop work orders are issued within a 12 month period; or if ongoing OHS officer activity indicates possible health and safety issues. No company would be eligible for rebates when its COR is under review.

For the most part, officials admit that many COR holders have a generally solid safety record, and have developed effective safety programs. However, some companies seem to be more interested in the WCB premium rebates than with keeping their workplaces as safe as it should be. Those employers with a COR may be entitled to WCB premium rebates of around 3% each year, which can save the largest companies hundreds of thousands of dollars .

The re-examination of the program came after an auditor general’s report that suggested some abuse may be occurring. The Alberta Federation of Labour has gone so far as to call the program “an unmitigated failure,” claiming that the provincial government has been handing out certificates “like candy,” while making very little effort to determine whether employers actually deserved them.

There is also concern over the fact that, while so many companies have received rebates, the numbers don’t seem to be improving. While the overall number of hours lost due to injury has decreased in Alberta, the number of workplace fatalities climbed from 110 in 2009 to 136 last year.