Writing in Jacobin, Joe Allen says ” on Workers Memorial Day, we should remember that thousands die on the job every year — deaths made all the more tragic because they could have been prevented by bosses who valued workers’ lives.” Read the full story here
April 28 is the National Day of Mourning when we remember those who have lost their lives or suffered injury and illness because of their work.
Every day there are opportunities to prevent workplace injury and death, but we can’t do it without the data we need to drive our decision-making.
In Canada, we collect statistics on many things including the weather, but we fail to accurately record the number of individuals who have died as a result of their work. Because of this, we do not learn the lessons that would allow us to prevent future tragedies.
Apart from data compiled by Workers’ Compensation on workplace injuries and fatalities, no Canadian department or agency is actually counting occupational fatalities and injuries. The widely quoted 951 fatalities in the 2017 statistics (the most recent year available) from the Association of Workers’ Compensation Board of Canada (AWCBC) should not be used as the sole benchmark for work-related fatalities or injuries. The AWCBC figures only account for approved compensation claims, not the actual total of injuries and fatalities that occurred in any given year. Recent Canadian research demonstrates that work-related fatalities could be as much as 10 to 13 times higher than official data indicates.
This lack of reporting means thousands of injuries and deaths are missing from occupational health and safety statistics. These include workers exempt from coverage like the self-employed, banking employees, domestic workers, many farmers and agricultural workers, commuting fatalities, stress-induced suicides, unapproved occupational diseases, employees of private clubs, and temporary or undocumented workers.
In addition, in the federal sector, when a person dies due to a particular hazard, the compensation board does not provide the root cause analysis to employers. The Coroner does not give employers a notice of death, nor is the root cause of the injury or fatality necessarily considered in the required hazard prevention program – as though every fatality is “an accident.”
Let’s push to make 2019 the year that the government of Canada begins to accurately document and use evidence-based recording to prevent workplace injuries and save lives. One is too many — no one should die on the job.
Today is the National Day of Mourning, a day to remember those who died, or were injured or made ill, from their work. It is also a day people are asked to recommit to improving health and safety and preventing tragedies in the workplace.
Since November 2017, we have lost eight of our sisters and brothers to a range of accidents and derailments in the rail industry.
Their names are Dimitrios Bakertzis, Melissa Heins, Kevin Anderson, Tony Nenasheff, Pierre-Luc Levesque, Andrew Dockrell, Dylan Paradis and Daniel Robert Waldenberger-Bulmer.
Nobody should expect or accept so many tragedies in such a short amount of time. The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) published its own letter to commemorate the Day of Mourning, which includes more details and information on how railroaders are remembering.
Our other affiliates are doing their part, too. Today and tomorrow, Local Union 419 will be paying tribute to Virgilio Bernardino, a warehouse worker at Versacold in Toronto who died after being crushed by falling debris in 2003. Follow their Facebook page for pictures of the commemoration.
Work-related tragedies are on the rise in Canada. According to the latest statistics, the number of workplace fatalities rose from 905 in 2016 to 951 in 2017. Close to half of these fatalities occurred the transportation, construction and manufacturing industries, which collectively employ the bulk of our members.
Beyond the statistics and the individual lives lost, we must never forget that these tragedies affect scores of family members, friends and co-workers.
Many people are still unaware of the significance of April 28. I invite everyone to raise awareness about the National Day of Mourning by sharing this post or the countless others you will come across today. You can also light a candle or wear a black ribbon in honour of those we lost, or attend one of the many Day of Mourning ceremonies held across the country.
But most importantly, you can honour the memory of those we lost by fighting for safety of the living. That means getting involved in health and safety committees, focusing on prevention, and never being afraid to speak up when you see something dangerous at work.
All accidents are preventable, and our union will always be there for those who stick up for safety.
In solidarity,
François Laporte
President
Teamsters Canada
Nous soulignons aujourd’hui la Journée des personnes décédées ou blessées au travail en souvenir de ceux qui sont morts, blessés ou qui ont été atteints d’une maladie à cause de leur travail. C’est aussi une journée où l’on demande aux gens de s’engager à améliorer la santé et la sécurité et à prévenir les tragédies sur le lieu de travail.
Depuis novembre 2017, nous avons notamment perdu huit de nos consoeurs et confrères à la suite de divers accidents et déraillements dans l’industrie ferroviaire. Leurs noms sont Dimitrios Bakertzis, Melissa Heins, Kevin Anderson, Tony Nenasheff, Pierre-Luc Levesque, Andrew Dockrell, Dylan Paradis et Daniel Robert Waldenberger-Bulmer.
Nul ne devrait s’attendre ou accepter autant de tragédies. La Conférence ferroviaire de Teamsters Canada a d’ailleurs publié un texte détaillé sur son site Internet afin de commémorer leurs membres décédés dans le cadre de la Journée des personnes décédées ou blessées au travail.
De plus, les sections locales canadiennes font aussi leur part. Par exemple, la Section locale 419 rendra hommage à Virgilio Bernardino, un ouvrier d’entrepôt de Versacold à Toronto, qui est décédé après avoir été écrasé par des débris en 2003. Suivez leur page Facebook pour y voir les photos de la commémoration.
Les décès liés aux accidents de travail sont à la hausse au Canada. Selon les dernières statistiques, la mortalité au travail est passée de 905 en 2016 à 951 en 2017. Près de la moitié de ces décès sont survenus dans les secteurs des transports, de la construction et de la fabrication. Ces trois industries emploient collectivement la majorité de nos membres.
Ces statistiques ne devraient jamais nous faire perdre de vue que ces tragédies touchent des membres de famille, des amis et des collègues de travail.
Il arrive parfois que les gens ne soient pas conscients de l’importance du 28 avril. C’est la raison pour laquelle je vous invite à faire connaître la Journée des personnes décédées ou blessées au travail en partageant ce message sur vos réseaux sociaux. Vous pouvez aussi allumer une bougie ou porter un ruban noir en l’honneur de ceux que nous avons perdus ou assister à l’une des nombreuses cérémonies qui ont lieu partout au pays.
Mais surtout, vous pouvez honorer la mémoire de ceux que nous avons perdus en veillant à la sécurité des vivants. Cela signifie qu’il faut s’impliquer dans les comités de santé et de sécurité, s’investir dans la prévention et ne jamais avoir peur de dénoncer les situations potentiellement dangereuses au travail.
Tous les accidents sont évitables et notre syndicat sera toujours là pour ceux qui défendent la santé et la sécurité.
Solidairement,
Le président de Teamsters Canada
François Laporte
One is too many. This is the theme United Nurses of Alberta will be emphasizing on Sunday, April 28, 2019, the National Day of Mourning.
The National Day of Mourning has been observed on April 28 in Canada since 1991, a year after passage of the Workers Mourning Day Act by Parliament. It commemorates working people who have been killed, injured or suffered illness from workplace hazards and occupational exposures.
At UNA, we realize that health care is different from most occupations when it comes to protecting workers from the dangers of their work. This is because in addition to expected workplace hazards, nurses’ work requires a high degree of physical work with patients.
When people enter the health care system, they naturally experience fears and emotions, as do their friends and members of their families. Many of us feel we have lost control when we or a loved one is in a health care facility. This can lead to emotionally charged reactions and, sometimes, the potential for violence.
This helps explain why injuries to health care workers are so high compared to most other occupations. Health care workers’ lost-time claims and no-lost-time claims accepted by the Alberta Workers’ Compensation Board have been increasing. And all categories of injury – exposures, musculoskeletal injuries, slips, trips, falls, and workplace violence – increased in the health care sector between 2015 and 2017.
We know from analysis of 2017 Workers Compensation Board statistics that workers in the predominantly female health care sub-sector have the highest rate of accepted workplace violence claims. The WCB statistics indicate that health care workers are 70 times more likely to have an accepted WCB claim resulting from violence than the rate of violence-related claims in the predominantly male mining, manufacturing and construction sector.
So, what does One is to Many mean when there are so many injuries occurring?
Health care workers are now getting the message their injuries need to be reported. The increase in injury reporting has been shown through employer tracking systems. Only by reporting injuries can we as a workforce ensure changes in workplace practices occur that lower injury rates.
There has also been increase in reports to UNA of weapons use, violence and sexual assaults.
Meanwhile, research by the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions sin 2017 suggested that 70 to 80 per cent of all violence faced by nurses is never reported. In a discussion paper entitled Enough is Enough, CFNU explained the higher risk of violence by pointing to short staffing, inappropriate placement of patients, inadequate security or inability to access security, lack of secure rooms for patients in emergency departments, lack of mental health beds at designated facilities, and inadequate communications protocols and practices.
At last year’s Day of Mourning ceremony in Edmonton, UNA, the Health Sciences Association of Alberta and the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees together called for an end to violence in health care. UNA President Heather Smith said security must be on site at every urgent care centre in Alberta.
Alberta Health Services has responded by hiring more security in some urgent care centres and placing more mobile security units in rural Alberta. This has led to more sites being able to access security assistance to deal with aggressive patients. Nevertheless, many areas remain that do not have access to timely security. More must be done to ensure safe workplaces for UNA’s members and other health care workers.
When one of our members is injured because the access to security is not timely, that is one too many.
Every time one of our members is injured because of faulty equipment, short staffing, or unsafe working conditions, that is one too many.
UNA calls on each of you to reflect on the dangers of your job on this Day of Mourning and remember you are an important person. UNA does not want you to be a statistic we mourn next year on April 28. When you go to work, work safe – your partner, your spouse, your children and family all want you to come home safe and uninjured.
Deaths caused by hazardous substances at work are at an all-time high, linked to 1 million preventable deaths worldwide each year.
Unions are telling negligent employers, no more. If you expose us, we will expose you.
International Workers’ Memorial Day – Hazards magazine graphic 5
Deaths caused by hazardous substances at work are at an all-time high, linked to 1 million preventable deaths worldwide each year.
Unions are telling negligent employers, no more. If you expose us, we will expose you.
International Workers’ Memorial Day – Hazards magazine graphic 4
Deaths caused by hazardous substances at work are at an all-time high, linked to 1 million preventable deaths worldwide each year.
Unions are telling negligent employers, no more. If you expose us, we will expose you.
International Workers’ Memorial Day – Hazards magazine graphic 3
Deaths caused by hazardous substances at work are at an all-time high, linked to 1 million preventable deaths worldwide each year.
Unions are telling negligent employers, no more. If you expose us, we will expose you.
International Workers’ Memorial Day – Hazards magazine graphic 2
Deaths caused by hazardous substances at work are at an all-time high, linked to 1 million preventable deaths worldwide each year.
Unions are telling negligent employers, no more. If you expose us, we will expose you.
International Workers’ Memorial Day – Hazards magazine graphic 1