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Changes to WorkSafeBC’s Forestry Regulations to take effect Spring 2008
Richmond, B.C., January 23, 2008— At their meeting on December 11, 2007, the Board of Directors of WorkSafeBC approved amendments to the forestry section of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation and directed that these new standards be deposited with the Registrar's Office as soon as possible resulting in an effective date of May 1, 2008.
The standards that the Board of Directors approved are the result of extensive consultations with workplace parties throughout 2006, culminating in public hearings in June 2007. Submissions were received from all stakeholders in the industry, including employers, workers, unions, the Council of Forest Industries, the BC Forest Safety Council and the Ministry of Forests and Range.
These new provisions address the changing nature of BC's forest sector and provide better protection to workers in the areas of prime contractor authority, supervision and planning, as well as increasing safety standards when working in proximity to machinery. The new standards now ensure that prime contractors in the forestry sector have the necessary qualifications and the necessary authority to fulfill their legal responsibilities and that there be a falling supervisor for all manual falling activities.
New provisions dealing with log hauling will address speed and impairment by fatigue. In addition, the new provisions will also address the ability for employers to keep current with new equipment and technology.
The new regulations are being posted on WorkSafeBC's website.
“The Board of Directors required us to review the Regulation as one of a number of initiatives focused on making the woods safer in response to the Forest Safety Task Force, which made its recommendations in 2004,” said Roberta Ellis, the WorkSafeBC Vice President who chaired the public hearing process.
Other initiatives by WorkSafeBC to make the woods safer have included the certification of fallers, recruitment of additional prevention and investigation officers, more inspections, and additional penalties where warranted.
In addition, WorkSafeBC supports and funds the industry-led BC Forest Safety Council, which was also created as a result of the Forest Safety Task Force recommendations. The Council continues to provide a mechanism for all the workplace parties to focus their attention on their sectors' challenges.
Three of the key findings in the Auditor General's report on safety in the forest industry call for:
- Strengthening the safety infrastructure
- Improved planning for safety, and
- Improvements in on-site supervision
These new regulations strengthen the legal standards and contribute significantly to addressing these concerns.
“Despite encouraging news that the number of traumatic fatalities in forestry has been reduced by one-half since 2005 – the worst year on record, the goal of zero fatalities has not been reached,” said Ellis. “No one can be satisfied until that goal is met.”
Serving 2.2 million workers and about 190,000 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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For more information, contact: |
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| Donna Freeman Manager, Corporate Public Affairs WorkSafeBC 604 276-3141 or Donna.Freeman@WorkSafeBC.com |
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