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Langley, B.C., March 12, 2007 — Farming and ranching in British Columbia can be dangerous work. From 2001 to 2005, WorkSafeBC accepted nearly 3,700 claims.
From 1983 to the end of 2006, 16 workers were killed while being transported. This is more than twice the number of the next most common cause — unguarded machinery.
“Last week, tragically, three more workers being transported were killed. This should be a call to action for all of us — employers, workers, their unions and the various regulatory agencies involved,” said Diana Miles, WorkSafeBC Vice-President of Worker and Employer Services, at the Langley launch of Canadian Agricultural Safety Week (CASW).
CASW, March 14–20, 2007, has the theme “Protect your moving parts” — a campaign focused on keeping workers from getting caught in farm machinery and using appropriate repair and maintenance schedules for equipment. On average in Canada, 115 people are killed and another 1,500 are seriously injured by farm-related incidents each year.
WorkSafeBC statistics show that 20 workers lost their lives in agricultural-related accidents and 183 workers were seriously injured between 2001 and 2005. The human and financial costs were also high: more than 221,000 work days were lost and approximately $43 million paid in agricultural sector claims costs.
“To maintain the focus on preventing injuries and fatalities in this sector, WorkSafeBC will continue to work with and rely on FARSHA, the farming and ranching health and safety agency,” said Miles.
WorkSafeBC recently analyzed 12 years of data for the period 1992 — 2005 that shows a 45 percent reduction in the injury rate in the agricultural sector. Reportable incidents fell from 1,096 injuries per hundred person-years of work in 1992 to 746 in 2005. The study showed that in that time period, the costs related to injury were reduced by about $21.6 million, or approximately $1.8 million a year.
“We are thrilled with the results of this study,” said Bruce Johnson, General Manager of FARSHA. “It means the effort we are putting into making farming and ranching safer in B.C. is working.”
The Farm and Ranch Safety and Health Association (FARSHA) was established in 1993 to promote safety and health in B.C. farming through the development of safety programs, training courses, workplace reviews and publishing educational materials. It was launched at the initiative of WorkSafeBC, the BC Agriculture Council and the Canadian Farmworkers' Union. FARSHA's work is funded by a levy on the assessments paid to WorkSafeBC by registered farm employers in B.C.
Serving nearly two million workers and more than 188,000 employers, WorkSafeBC is a provincial statutory agency governed by a Board of Directors and funded by 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 or fellow workers for injuries on the job in return for a no-fault insurance program fully paid for by employers. WorkSafeBC is committed to a safe and healthy workplace and to providing return-to-work rehabilitation and legislated compensation benefits to workers injured as a result of their employment.
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| Gladys Johnsen
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