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Too many young workers die says WorkSafeBC
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- Young worker region overview (PDF 31kb)
Richmond, BC May 24, 2007 — According to WorkSafeBC, in 2006, nine young male workers died. They worked in the oil and gas industry, in general construction, as ski lift attendants, as a paramedic and as a pilot.
“These nine deaths, indeed all deaths in the workplace, are avoidable and are unacceptable,” said Diana Miles, WorkSafeBC's Vice-President of Worker and Employer Services at the Fifth Avenue Cinema where awards were being presented to the winners of the provincial high school public service announcement contest.
The top three videos were from Golden, Surrey and Kamloops. 62 entries were received. The Washington Marine Group, London Drugs and the BC Art Teachers' Association partnered with WorkSafeBC to promote the contest and recognize the winners. Each of the winning teams won $500 to share among the members and their schools received $2,000, $1,500 and $1,000 respectively. The winning videos are available for viewing or downloading from worksafebc.com or raiseyourhand.com.
Steve Frasher, Washington Marine Group's CEO, presented the first place award to the team from Golden Secondary School. “Washington Marine Group congratulates all of the young people who worked on these videos and looks to them to bring the values and attitudes they demonstrated to the workplaces of the future,” he said.
Paul Straszak, Associate Deputy Minister of Labour, presented the second place award to the team from Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary in Surrey, on behalf of the Honourable Olga Ilich, Minister of Labour and Citizens' Services.
He commended all the contest entrants for raising awareness of safety in the workplace. “The ultimate winners of this contest are the youth of B.C. We want them to understand how important it is for them come home safely from work each day.”
Laurie Lowes, London Drugs Health and Safety Manager, said as he presented the third place award to the students of Norkam Secondary School in Kamloops, “The training, orientation and supervision of young workers is a huge priority for London Drugs. If they learn good habits now they will use them for a lifetime.”
In BC, between 2001 and 2005 over 48,000 claims were accepted from young workers with approximately 6% coming from Prince George and other northern regions. Provincially, WorkSafeBC paid out over $265 million for 1.1 million days of lost work. In Prince George and its surrounding areas, the cost was over $31 million and approximately 89,000 days lost.
Most commonly, young workers in Prince George and its regions were injured in the accommodation, food and leisure, retail, wood and paper products, and forestry sectors. The most common injuries were caused by being struck by something, overexertion, or falling from the same level.
“Partnering with employers, unions and schools to educate young people about their workplace rights and responsibilities is one of the most important ways WorkSafeBC can prevent injuries,” said Bruce Clarke, WorkSafeBC's Regional Prevention Manager for Prince George.
Serving 2.2 million workers and about 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 BC'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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