Canadian Occupational Safety

February/March 2013 7 By Linda Johnson A lmost all workers in Ontar- io's construction industry are now required to have Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) coverage. Eff ective Jan. 1, most indepen- dent operators, small businesses and executive offi cers in a corpora- tion working in construction were required to begin paying WSIB premiums. Executive offi cers and partners whose businesses are already registered with the WSIB also must report their own earnings and pay premiums. Exemptions are available for home renovators exclusively working in renovation contracted directly with the individual living in the residence under construction. Businesses are also permitted to choose one execu- tive offi cer or partner to apply for an exemption from coverage, provided that person does not perform any construction work on the project. e changes will aff ect an esti- mated 90,000 independent operators who have never had to pay into WSIB before, according to the WSIB. e Ontario Construction Secre- tariat (OCS) in Etobicoke, Ont., said mandatory WSIB coverage closes a loophole that allowed employers to classify employees as "independent contractors" and, in eff ect, evade taxes and workers' compensation premiums. "By closing this loophole, the gov- ernment has taken an important step in prohibiting the underground economy in Ontario construction," said Sean Strickland, chief executive offi cer at OCS. Strickland said workers will also benefi t greatly from mandatory cov- erage. When employers are no longer able to call them independent opera- tors, workers will become part of the regulatory system. " at's not only bringing them into the WSIB, but also making sure they pay the requisite unemployment insurance and provincial and federal taxes. When you bring more workers inside the regulatory regime, that's going to help workers' safety," he said. In addition, Strickland said, the new rule will provide a more level playing field for all contractors. According to an OCS study, con- tractors who classify employees as independent operators gain a com- petitive advantage ranging from 20 to 50 per cent of labour costs. But Plamen Petkov, director of provincial aff airs, Ontario, for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) in Toronto, said his organization does not believe the move to mandatory coverage in the construction industry will eff ectively address the problem of the under- ground economy. "It seems very unusual you're going to implement a new premium, which is like a new tax, to get people who operate underground. What may happen is that you may actually force more people underground to avoid paying the premium," he said. " is simply adds an additional layer of fi nancial burden to construc- tion company owners." Instead, he added, introducing tax credits for construction is far more likely to bring companies out. A federal home renovation tax credit a few years ago, for example, prompted many underground operators to reg- ister and pay premiums so they could take advantage of the program. Petkov said a large number of the CFIB's members are in construction and have expressed concerns about the new requirement. According to a federation survey, some members say it will cost them $11,000 a year. " E s p e c i a l l y with the econ- omy the way it is now, this is not h e l p - ful," he said. By Linda Johnson T he internal responsibility system (IRS) can effectively lead to continuous improvements in safety, according to Peter Strahlendorf, a professor at Ryerson University's School of Occupational and Public Health in Toronto. Speaking at the annual Workplace Risk Management Year in Review, presented by Toronto-based law fi rm Gowlings, Strahlendorf said an IRS that fosters creativity and personal due diligence produces a health and safety management system that con- stantly drives down risk. O en wrongly described — as a set of rights or policy-making process, for example — IRS focuses on duties, he said. Each person in an organiza- tion is individually responsible for health and safety. A well functioning IRS consists of three elements, Strahlendorf explained. For every position in an organization, a person's authority, responsibility and accountability with regards to OHS should be clearly out- lined. Just as workers have diff erent job duties, they also take responsibil- ity for health and safety in diff erent ways, according to their job and the authority they have within the hierarchy. In almost all cases, he added, when workers see a hazard or con- travention, they can stop and fi x it themselves. is way, they take ownership of the problem. If they cannot fi x it safely themselves and must report it, then the senior person becomes accountable. " ere's an inherent engine to the IRS; people understand how it's sup- posed to work. You get a hot potato. Fix it. If you can't, move it up to a manager. e manager has more authority, more resources and fi xes the problem — or not. Sometimes, it's too big for the manager, so you move it up," he said. " e IRS is a dynamic, problem- solving machine based on risk, not on a kind of formal, quantitative engineering approach to risk, but a very day-to-day, due diligence type of risk assessment." St rahlendor f distinguished between "phase one" of IRS, an essentially negative approach that emphasizes fi nding defects and haz- ards, and "phase two," which is based on a modernized "quality" approach to safety: workers are encouraged to think of ways to improve processes and systems used in their particular jobs. "World-class performers today — whether they use the term IRS or not — have an engaged workforce, where everyone's thinking of ways to improve. It's not the million-dollar suggestion; it's a tidal wave of con- tinuous, incremental improvement." "A healthy IRS, he added, is 90 per cent of what people call a 'safety cul- ture'," he said. Phase one of IRS effectively reduces risks, Strahlendorf said, but this success can lead to complacency. When workers feel safe, they stop seeing contraventions and it's hard to maintain motivation to improve safety further. In contrast, requiring workers to think about how they do their job and suggest improvements, as in phase two, greatly enhances motivation. "People are given time, money and resources to test things out. ey get credit for it. e motivation comes from the satisfaction of carrying it out and the recognition of what you've done," he said. "It's motivation from within. What's the best way to do health and safety — external motivation, sticks and carrots? Or is it internal? You're doing health and safety because you want to." To ensure accountability at all levels, Strahlendorf said, an eff ective evaluation or auditing system needs to be implemented. Surveys, inter- views and observations identify the system's weaknesses and strengths and should include questions on, for example, the employee's per ception of how others are performing in the IRS and whether the "IRS analysis" is being applied to problems. Internal responsibility system leads to safer workplace: Strahlendorf WSIB coverage now mandatory for Ontario's construction industry

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