Workers are dying unnecessarily in a provincial construction industry that desperately needs reformed safety procedures and regulations, say authors of a just-released study.
Construction workers in B.C. die at a rate three times higher than the provincial average for work-related fatalities, according to the authors of Building a Safer Work Environment for BC Construction Workers, which was released January 7 by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and the B.C. and Yukon Territory Building Trades Council.
The study was released to coincide with the anniversary of an avoidable accident in 1981 that killed four construction workers. Gunther Couvreux, Brian Stevenson, Donald W. Davis and Yrjo Mitunen fell to their deaths that year during the construction of the Bentall Tower IV.
Since their deaths, 707 other work-related fatalities have occurred in the construction industry and the trend for BC construction deaths has gone upward since the tragedy. Annual construction industry deaths in B.C. average 26.2 annually since 1981, 31.8 a year since 1998 and 33.7 a year since 2001.
2003 alone saw 44 deaths related to construction in the province. In 2007, WorkSafe BC accepted a total of 139 fatality claims for all industries, with 30 deaths recorded in the construction industry.
The CCPA study argues that some of those deaths could have been avoided if simple reforms had been implemented.
“Compulsory safety training for all construction workers was one of the key recommendations of the BC Construction Industry Advisory Council in 1982, following the Bentall disaster,” said Wayne Peppard, Executive Director of the Building Trades Council and one of the study’s co-authors. “Twenty-seven years is already too long to wait for implementation of this life-saving recommendation.”
The CCPA study calls for reforms that would give all construction workers -- whether union or non-union -- health and safety representation rights, and permit authorized union safety representatives to enter non-union work sites. In addition, it suggests that WorkSafe BC conduct pilot projects to test innovative safety policies that have been successful in the United Kingdom and Australia.
Al Johnson, WorkSafe BC’s regional director responsible for the construction industry, told the Tyee that his organization already holds construction employers responsible for safety training, education and orientation, with WorkSafe BC officers making site visits and enforcing that responsibility.
“As for making safety training and certification by WorkSafe compulsory,” he said, “I’m not sure if that would work, at least not in construction.”
Johnson said that many of the deaths included in the CCPA totals reflected long-term disease, especially from exposure to asbestos decades before death. For example, he said that 18 of the 30 deaths recorded in construction in 2007 were disease-related, not the result of traumatic injuries. .
The Tyee contacted the offices of B.C.’s Minister of Labour and Citizen’s Service Iain Black, but he was not available for comment.
Tom Sandborn is a contributing editor for the Tyee. He welcomes your feedback and story tips at tos@infinet.net.
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alive
3 years ago
another joke
“Compulsory safety training for all construction workers"
Yeah right!
Sit them down in the mobile shed and have the foreman watch who dares to say anything detrimental.
Been there, it is a farce!
The only benefit is the chance to sit down for an hour or so.
munroe
3 years ago
The only real solution is to
The only real solution is to increase union density in the industry. Currently, it is fraught with non-union and pseudo-union projects that do not respect the need for proper apprenticeships wher safety is a central feature. Further, the apprentcieship system requires major reform after the dismantling it has suffered under the Liberals.
Get rid of CLAC and stop allowing the ICBA to influence policy. Then the needed improvements will occur.
AH HA
3 years ago
139
A good article and a good study paper worth reading was referenced. Unfortunately, a lot of folks think dying is part of the job. If you do not believe me, ask around.
I am not in a union or need to be in one, been there done that. However, for many workers the benefit of a collective voice would go a long way to promoting a voice of health and safety advocacy without fear of reprisal. Having said that a few unions are little more than a collective "cluck" quite similar to the noise and characteristics of a chicken.
For the most part though the WorkSafeBC Officers do a great job, and are well respected for it. There just are nowhere near enough of them to cover the amount of workplaces in BC. Having said that there is zero independent oversight of these officers. Who have enforcement; judge and jury powers and a few rogues are out there tainting the process.
The fact that the criminal code has provision to deal with employers and supervisors who are not duly diligent should not be overlooked. The problem is that it is hardly ever used in BC, but no one is asking why. What we do hear from the office of the crown attorney is that such and such a case will not be prosecuted because "it is not in the public interest". I am still waiting to meet a construction worker who agrees with that, I will keep you posted if that changes.
Most non "WCB" non - union safety officers in the BC construction industry will tell you that there is little to no job security in their choice of profession. A study on their attrition rates and causes thereof would shed even more light on the subject matter. They are the frequently abused, bullied, silenced and traumatised...check it out.
Most of what you need to know about safety enforcement can be summed up in the example of the head safety officer for nuclear energy and her dismissal.....
"139 is 139 to many"