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Too many young workers die or are seriously injured in construction
Young worker safety resources
- Construction fact sheet (PDF 300kb)
- Forestry fact sheet (PDF 214kb)
- Hospitality fact sheet (PDF 300kb)
- Manufacturing fact sheet (PDF 214kb)
- Retail fact sheet (PDF 214kb)
- Construction backgrounder (PDF 64kb)
- Farmer Construction (PDF 41kb)
- B.C. regional notice of incidents involving young workers (PDF 63kb)
- Young worker claim hierarchy tree - GVRD (PDF 39kb)
- Young worker provincial overview 2004 (PDF 82kb)
- Loren and Tracy profile (PDF 37kb)
- Imperial Paving profile (PDF 45kb)
- Mott Electric profile (PDF 30 kb)
- Preventing violence, robbery, and theft (PDF 1mb)
- Quantum Hazmat Environmental (PDF 23kb)
- Violence in the workplace
Richmond, B.C., May 10, 2006 — According to WorkSafeBC statistics, in 2005, five of the 11 young workers who died and 34 of the 151 seriously injured were working in construction.
Three of the five died in forklift incidents, one was electrocuted when he came in contact with a power line and one fell from an unguarded third floor balcony.
A breakfast today at the Pan Pacific brings together construction employers, training providers, unions and other stakeholders to focus on the specific training, orientation and supervision that young workers need.
At this time of year, thousands of young workers aged 15-24 will enter a new workplace or start a job for the first time — and some of them will be seriously injured or permanently disabled.
“2005 was not a good year for young men in construction,” said Diana Miles, WorkSafeBC Vice President, Worker and Employer Services Division. “New and young workers deserve our attention and we all should feel a sense of responsibility for their safety.”
B.C.’s 310,000 young workers, 23,000 of them employed in construction, make up 14.9 per cent of the provincial labour force and thousands are expected to be added by 2010. B.C.’s labour force is increasing at the rate of 3.4 per cent annually; but the young worker component is growing by 8.3 per cent annually.
The injury rate for all young workers is more than twice that of the overall population, but there has been a 40-per-cent reduction since 1996. While the injury rate has decreased significantly, the number of serious injuries has been trending upward in the past five years — from 114 in 2001 to 151 in 2005.
Keith Sashaw, President, Vancouver Regional Construction Association, spoke of industry training programs that will give young workers a skill set to take to an employer and an understanding of the hazards and risks involved. “Training is the key – young people need to be confident about what they can do and what they need to do to keep themselves safe,” he said.
Lee Loftus, speaking on behalf of the BC and Yukon Building and Construction Trades Council, said, “This is a dangerous business. Worker safety must be an integral part of every construction site.”
A kit of young worker safety and construction resources was given to all attending the breakfast and will be available at www.worksafebc.com.
WorkSafeBC is an independent provincial statutory agency governed by a Board of Directors that serves nearly two million workers and about 179,000 employers. WorkSafeBC was born out of a compromise between B.C.’s workers and employers in 1917 where workers gave up the right to sue their employers and fellow workers for injuries on the job in return for a no-fault insurance program fully paid for by employers. The organization is committed to safe and healthy workplaces and to providing return-to-work rehabilitation and legislated compensation benefits.
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Gladys Johnsen |