Workplace injury and fatality record access anything but
It will be very difficult for Albertans to draw meaningful conclusions about Workers’ Compensation Board ensured employers’ safety records from information the provincial government plans to publish, said two AUPE union representatives who deal with workplace safety issues.
Randy Corbett and Dennis Malayko said the 10-point plan for increased occupational health and safety transparency and accountability announced yesterday by Employment and Immigration Minister Thomas Lukaszuk cannot live up to its promises.
“The numbers that the government says it will release do not provide enough information to give an accurate impression of an employer’s true safety record,” Corbett said. “As a result, they are bound to be misleading to the public.”
For example, he said, while the government has pledged to make public, employers’ lost-time claim rates, this could be misleading if the actual number of claims filed is not provided.
“If an organization with eight employees has two workers injured on the job, they will have a disproportionately higher injury time-loss rate compared to an organization with 1,000 employees with 100 injuries, so this information as the government plans to present it is misleading,” he said.
Lukaszuk also said in yesterday’s release that the public would be informed if an employer holds a Certificate of Recognition (COR) from the department, an indicator that the employer meets safety standards.
“This sounds good, but while many employers live up to their COR, there are poor employers out there who need to be identified. Some employers use a COR to win bids and get WCB rebates, and that’s it,” Corbett said.
What Albertans really need to know is the kind of injuries experienced by employers, the actual number of injuries are, how often they occur and if employers are allowed to continue operating after injuries have taken place without facing meaningful consequences, Corbett said.
Alberta’s rate of prosecutions stemming from workplace injuries is among the lowest in Canada, said Dennis Malayko. “The public needs to know the number of fines and prosecutions against irresponsible employers.
“Not producing these statistics amounts to pulling the wool over the eyes of Alberta working people and their families, Malayko said.
In recent years, there have been nearly 100 workplace fatalities in Alberta that have not resulted in prosecutions, Malayko said. “That’s a true shame.”
For there to be true transparency, he added, Lukaszuk needs to ensure that new workers are educated about their worksites and that sufficient numbers of officers who can enforce safety regulations are better trained.
“If Albertans are allowed to go online to see health offenses committed by restaurants where they are thinking of eating, they should also be able to see the complete safety records of employers where they may be thinking of working,” he concluded.
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