According to the CBC Web-site today, the Brad Wall government has decided to set up a "working group" to study (investigate) why workers are getting killed in Saskatchewan.Give me a break already!
We don't need a "study" - we need enforcement of the existing law. We need workers to be confident that they will be supported when they report a "bad employer". We need some bosses to go to jail for killing their workers through negligence.
We NEED a government that cares about workers, instead of pandering to the bosses, the Chambers of Commerce, and the CFIB, etc.
Brad Wall, Rob Norris, et al, can claim responsibility for the rash of workplace deaths in Saskatchewan since they signalled to the crappy employers that their government will look the other way.
My next question: Who's on the so-called "working group"?
Yeah...another study, another focus group, another committee, another sub committee, another meeting, another conference, another, another, another.....
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile back at the work site, another person gets killed and another family mourns.
And greedy corporations backed by greedy politicians literally get away with murder.
Is anyone else NOT okay with this??
Wait just a minute...
ReplyDeleteEvery worker in Saskatchewan has three basic rights:
The right to know about workplace hazards
The right to participate in making health and safety decisions
and most importantly
The right to REFUSE dangerous work.
Without going into all that these items entail,(If you're curious go to the OH&S Regs and Act) in every case of these three recent deaths, I can guarantee that the workers were every bit as negligent as the employers. I don't want to see anyone hurt or killed, but blaming only employers is not the answer.
The government does not look the other way, and infact will always lean in favor of the worker (at least this is the case with WCB and OH&S).
As a construction safety officer, I see hundreds of instances where my fellow employees bend the rules. There are certain people who, no matter how many times they are warned, sent home, or otherwise disciplined, will still come back the next day and refuse to wear fall protection or safety glasses. Maybe it's because they think it won't happen to them, but I guarantee my employer has spent thousands of dollars educating, providing safety gear, not so they don't get in trouble, but because more than anything they want their employees to go home to their families at the end of each day.
Perhaps instead of blaming goverment, the SFL could offer a solution that would help educate workers about their rights, and the importance of workplace safety. That would be time well spent!
Annie H, insist on a safe work environment = lose your job, because there are a gazillion other workers who are willing to cut corners and put up with unsafe conditions to feed their families.
ReplyDeleteGovernment enforcement of OHS rules is a joke, and this is true no matter what the political party in power. For instance, SaskPower was convicted of a 2003 incident whereby a worker received severe electrical burns. They pled guilty because the prosecution had memos written by an Engineer within the company detailling very severe deficiencies in training and safety precautions. SaskPower, being an arm of government, ought to be an example, but they have one of the most regressive records of safety in the industry.
I am not prepared to blame the victim.
ReplyDeleteThe Sask. government is lax in enforcement of the OH&S legislation, and since the election of Brad Wall, et al, - getting worse.
The SFL has lots of solutions, and we put them forward at every opportunity, including making regular submissions to the Committee of Review - when it sits.
The current government is the most reactionary, vindictive, and spiteful government we've had in decades. They are not the least bit interested in what the SFL or our affiliates have to say.
Annie H, I completely agree with your comments. I see it all the time - workers being lazy despite the warnings and it, in some unfortunate cases, leads to injuries.
ReplyDeleteIt is the SFL and LARRY HUBICH who continue to be "THE MOST REACTIONARY, VINDICTIVE, AND SPITEFUL" ones. Hubich, it's so easy for you to sit high on your pedestal and call names, offering no reasonable insight. It's no wonder that the government, or anyone else for that matter, gives a damn what you think.