High-risk jobs targeted in bid to reduce deaths

Saskatchewan’s efforts to reverse a spike in workplace fatalities will now target the highest-risk jobs, industries and employers, according to a new strategy released on Monday.

Worksafe Saskatchewan’s Fatalities and Serious Injuries Strategy sets specific targets to reduce deaths related to asbestos exposure, motor vehicle crashes, firefighter cancers and falls from heights.

It also aims to reduce serious injuries in health care, transportation and manufacturing, while improving mental health for first responders.

Don Morgan, minister of labour relations and workplace safety, said the strategy is a response to a concerning uptick in workplace fatalities and serious injuries last year. Forty-eight Saskatchewan people lost their lives due to injuries or illnesses related to their work in 2018, well above the 27 reported in 2017.

Serious injuries were up by almost 100, with reports through the Workers Compensation Board (WCB) reaching 2,472 in 2018.

Morgan said those numbers are “unacceptably high.” He believes the strategy will save lives.

“What it will do is give the ministry officials the ability to target employers that have had a higher-than-usual risk and try and develop general workplace awareness on the issues of safety,” Morgan said.

“Part of it will be an education and awareness program. Part of it will be increasing our targeted interventions by the occupational health and safety officers.”

Lori Johb, president of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour, said the strategy is an important step. But she worried that some industries prone to injuries and fatalities are left out. She would have liked to see a greater focus on potash mining, for instance, and feels like the attention paid to manufacturing is superficial.

“We do think that there’s some gaps,” she said.

Johb also wants to see more transparency. She’s calling on the ministry’s occupational health and safety branch to publish its investigation reports. She has previously called for in-person training through the Youth Worker Readiness Certificate course, and was disappointed to see that left out of the strategy.

But she appreciates the commitment to continue working with labour as the strategy evolves. She views it as a “living document.”

“I think we’re actually very happy with the work that was done around the strategy,” Johb said.

“They listened to our concerns and they met with workers.”

Regina Fire Chief Layne Jackson was pleased to see a commitment to focus on firefighter cancers. It’s a tragedy he has seen too often during his time leading Regina Fire & Protective Services.

“It is a common occurrence, and it does have a big impact,” he said. “We have a strong, strong family culture in the fire service, and when one of our members develops cancer, whether they be current, or whether they be retired, it does have an impact on all of us.”

WCB accepted 354 fatality claims between 2010 and 2018. The largest number, 87, were connected with asbestos exposure. After that came 56 motor vehicle crashes, 42 heart attacks, 28 firefighter cancer exposures and 23 falls from heights.

The strategy includes the following targets, to be achieved by Dec. 31, 2021:

■ Improve asbestos hazard awareness from 19 per cent to 39 per cent

■ Reduce work-related motor vehicle crashes by 30 per cent

■ Improve firefighter cancer prevention controls by 50 per cent

■ Reduce falls from heights injuries by 30 per cent

■ Reduce serious injuries in the health care sector by 10 per cent

■ Reduce serious injuries by 10 per cent in the Saskatchewan transportation sector

■ Reduce the duration of psychological injury claims by 20 per cent

■ Reduce serious injuries by five per cent in manufacturing.

Most of the measures to achieve those targets focus on increased awareness and education, as well as partnerships. But the strategy does mention a targeted field campaign to reduce motor vehicle crashes is in the works.

The strategy does not include any commitment to hire more occupational health and safety officers to step up enforcement across the board. Morgan said any potential changes on that score will have to wait until budget time. There are currently about 50 officers, he said.

Morgan stressed that the longterm goal for workplace injuries and deaths remains zero. It’s a goal approximately 88 per cent of workplaces in Saskatchewan have already met.

But Morgan isn’t satisfied. He said every fatality takes a heavy toll on the province, and on the families left behind. “I think we owe it to those families to do everything we can to ensure that those workers can have the best chance of coming home safe,” he said.