Canadian Occupational Safety

U P F R O N T Long working hours increasing heart disease, risk of stroke Working long hours can be deadly, according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO). Working 55 or more hours per week is associated with an estimated 35 per cent higher risk of a stroke and a 17 per cent higher risk of dying from ischemic heart disease, compared to working 35-40 hours a week. This is cause for concern, as due to the pandemic, more and more workers have had to work from home, and many teleworkers say that they are working longer hours as a result. Advocacy group questions death of migrant farmworkers A migrant advocacy group is questioning the safety of migrant workers while in quarantine as at least five migrant farmworkers have died since March this year. "Four of the five workers died in quarantine and the federal government and Prime Minister Trudeau are responsible for the quarantine period," according to a statement signed by 14 Base Groups, representing 115 workers of the migrant workers' group. "We still don't know how any of them died. We need an immediate investigation." The group says that immediate changes are needed to protect workers. "While the new research shows stark findings on disability inclusion across the FTSE 100, it also indicates that this is set to change." The Valuable 500. A global business collective launched in 2019 has reached its goal of having 500 companies commit to putting disability inclusion on their board agenda. Companies like Apple, BBC, The Coca-Cola Company, Sony, Twitter and Verizon, among others, have committed to the cause. With this achievement, The Valuable 500 has become the world's biggest CEO collective for disability inclusion. The membership includes 36 of the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) 100 Index companies, 46 of the Fortune 500 and 28 of the Nikkei. The organizations supporting The Valuable 500 have a combined revenue of over $8 trillion and over 20 million employees across 36 countries. People with disabilities make up 20 per cent of the working age population, but not a single senior manager or board-level executive at a FTSE 100 company disclosed a disability in 2020, according to a report from The Valuable 500 and Tortoise Media. Also, only 12 FTSE 100 companies report on the number of employees who have disclosed a disability. The average reported representation within those companies is 3.2 per cent. "While the new research shows stark findings on disability inclusion across the FTSE 100, it also indicates that this is set to change, with 16 out of the 100 companies having set credible targets related to representation of people with disabilities, and more set to put these in place," according to The Valuable 500. "All members of The Valuable 500 have made a public commitment to advancing disability inclusion within their organizations and positive change is already in action." The Valuable 500 has now launched phase 2 of the campaign, which will activate the 500 major organizations to work together to make change happen for disability inclusion in business. Under this phase of the campaign, 13 companies across The Valuable 500 will co-fund, co-build and co-test the programs and solutions, using their industry experience to catalyze progress for the entire community. These "Iconic Leaders" are Allianz, BBC, Deloitte, EY, Google, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., LSEG, Omnicom, P&G, Salesforce, Sony, Sky and Verizon. Apple has also joined the initiative and has become the Iconic partner for Inclusive Design, helping to drive the highest levels of inclusive design within and beyond the community. In December 2020, the Ministry of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion and the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Industry announced they are collaborating on developing improved accessibility requirements for buildings. INTERNATIONAL EMPLOYERS PUTTING DISABILITY INCLUSION ON AGENDA Global business collective, The Valuable 500, aims to increase the visibility of employees with disabilities within their organizations W O R K P L A C E N E W S www.thesafetymag.com/ca 5

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