Canadian Occupational Safety

6 www.cos-mag.com Canadian Occupational Safety WORKPLACE NEWS Workplace fatalities increase across Canada: AWCBC I n 2017, there were 951 reported workplace fatalities across Canada, according to recently released statistics from the Association of Workers' Compensation Boards of Canada (AWCBC). This figure is up from 904 in 2016 and 852 in 2015. Construction was the deadliest industry with 217 fatalities, followed by manufacturing with 160. Trades, transport and equipment operators made up the most dangerous occupation, accounting for 486 fatalities. Jackie Manuel, CEO of the Newfoundland and Labrador Construction Safety association, said that while the construction industry has been making progress in injury prevention, the number of fatalities in the industry and the country as a whole is worrisome. "We have made little progress in this area over the last two decades," she said. "But the number that really matters is one. Every one represents a family forever changed, a preventable tragedy." The overwhelming majority of workplace fatalities happened to men (920 out of 951) and 56 per cent of workers killed on the job were over the age of 64. Twenty-three young workers (aged 15 to 24) died on the job in 2017, down from 25 in 2016. Young worker injuries increased, with 31,441 lost time claims in 2017, up from 29,499 in 2016. Looking at injuries overall, there were 251,625 lost-time claims accepted across Canada in 2017, up from 240,682 in 2016 and 232,629 in 2015. Sixteen per cent of those were for workers aged 50 to 54. Health care and social services had the most lost-time claims, accounting for 18 per cent of the total, followed by manufacturing (13 per cent), retail trade (11 per cent) and construction (10.5 per cent). It's not surprising that health care leads the pack as it operates 24-7, is one of the largest employers in the country and sometimes experiences high turnover, said Sandra Cripps, CEO of the Saskatchewan Association for Safe Workplaces in Health. "We know that shoulder and back injuries are the highest type of injury, have the highest cost and are the most difficult to fully recover from… When it comes to occurrences of violence and aggression, I would suggest there is under reporting, so the actual numbers could even be higher," she said. "I suspect our partners in safety are keenly aware that as an industry we can do better… In order to have safe patient care, we need a safe workforce." To reduce the number of injuries in health care, Cripps pointed to several elements that need to be considered: leadership commitment, hazard identification and control, increased reporting, root cause analysis and clarity on roles and responsibilities around safety. Saskatchewan is working to fully implement this safety management system in health care, Cripps added. Ontario was the safest province with the lowest lost time injury frequency of 1.09 per cent. Alberta came in second with a rate of 1.39 per cent, with New Brunswick rounding out the top three at 1.46 per cent. Manitoba fared the worst with a lost time injury frequency of 2.82 per cent. It was followed by Northwest Territories/Nunavut at 2.21 per cent and British Columbia at 2.18. However, Darlene Muise, manager of communications for Safe Work Manitoba, notes that the province's lost time injury rate has decreased 9.4 per cent over the past five years. "We have made significant investments in prevention and return to work efforts that are showing positive results," she said. Workplace harassment experienced by 1 in 5 women: StatsCan By John Dujay H arassment and abuse on the job continue to plague many Canadian workplaces, accord- ing to a Statistics Canada study. Almost one-fifth (19 per cent) of women and 13 per cent of men reported they suffered some form of harassment in the past year, according to Harassment in Canadian Workplaces. The study said harassment can range from interpersonal mistreatment, such as disrespect, condescension and degradation, to more physical forms of harassment such as physical assault, sexual assault, bullying or the threat of harm. The problem of harassment in the workplace is most acute for health-care workers, with 22 per cent reporting an incident of abuse during the past year, according to Statistics Canada. Women (53 per cent) are also more likely to say they received harassment from a client or customer than men (42 per cent). Statistics Canada also found about 47 per cent of men and 34 per cent of women who had been harassed by a supervisor or manager had a weak sense of belonging to their current organization, compared with 16 per cent of both women and men who said they had not been harassed at work in the past year. One way to get out in front of workplace harass- ment and abuse is to adopt a more stringent education regime, said Dan Boucher, director of regulatory affairs research at the Chartered Professionals in Human Resources (CPHR) Alberta in Calgary. "Our research indicates the most successful tool for reducing harassment involves workplace training," he said. "For managers and front-line supervisors, they need training that's going to help them enforce the zero-tolerance policy around harassment." Training also needs to be underscored for those who witness workplace abuse, according to Kent Highnam, program director at the School of Health, Community & Social Justice at the Justice Institute of British Columbia in Vancouver. "To say that 'We're going to bully-proof targets' or 'We're going to hunt down all the bullies' is probably not advisable or even possible. We try to address the bystanders as the most prevalent and the most influ- ential component of creating (a positive) workplace environment," he said. But that training needs to be followed up with a culture shift, which must begin with the C-suite. "They set the tone and they communicate in a lot Alberta's COR program about to change L ast year brought a slew of changes to Alberta's occupa- tional health and safety legislation and, as a result, obtaining the current Certificate of Recognition (COR) is not quite as impressive as it once was. The provincial government has iden- tified a need to modernize the COR program, according to Jody Young, assistant deputy minister, Safe, Fair and Healthy Workplaces, Government of Alberta. "We have made significant changes to the occupational health and safety act which has moved the bar on the minimum standard for occupational health and safety in the prov- ince. So, now, the gold standard is much closer aligned with the minimum standard," said Young, speaking at the Alberta Health & Safety Conference in Edmonton on Feb. 22. After extensive reviews with stakeholders, the government has drafted a set of goals it's hoping to achieve for the program over the next couple years. First up is a steering commit- tee meeting to determine the strategic vision and direction of the program. The four largest COR certifying partners in the province will sit on the committee with representatives from the smaller partners rotating in, along with the Workers Compensation Board of Alberta and the Alberta Federation of Labour. "We're looking at moving the current gov- ernment's model to support the concept of continuous improvement, consistency and focus on health and safety outcomes — and not just the opportunity to bid on jobs," Young said. The Small Employer Certificate of Recog- nition (SECOR) program will be replaced by a new, simpler program. Research from the University of British Columbia found that the current SECOR had very little impact on those small businesses holding the certification. "We are trying to fit small businesses into a big business model, and it doesn't always strike the right balance," Young said. The government is hoping to develop a new program that would better address the specific needs of small businesses and would be seen as equivalent to the COR. Likely, a welcomed change for cross-jurisdic- tional employers will be the recognition of CSA and ISO certifications as equivalent to COR. "They spend tremendous amounts of money getting those types of certification. How can we in Alberta recognize those cer- tifications and not make them jump through many, many hoops to get our COR certifica- tion as an equivalency?" Young said. The government is also looking at a new, enhanced COR that would denote excellence in health and safety. "In the future, looking at the opportunity for an advanced COR for those organizations that want to be leaders in industry, leaders in health and safety. Is there another more advanced COR that they can shoot for?" Young said.

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