Construction workers need safer workplace – study
John Calvert, 778.782.8163; 604.812.4703 (cell), john_calvert@sfu.ca
Marianne Meadahl, PAMR, 778.782.3210
Sarah Leavitt, CCPA, 604.801.5121, ext 233
A new study on worker safety in B.C. is calling for changes to improve safety in the construction industry.
The release of the study, co-authored by SFU health sciences associate professor John Calvert, coincides with the 28th anniversary of the deaths of four construction workers on the Bental Tower IV project. A key finding from the 1982 inquiry into their deaths was the need for compulsory safety training.
Calvert says B.C.’s Workers’ Compensation Act is “weak and ineffectual” in terms of worker participation in occupational health and safety. The study suggests all construction workers should be granted occupational health and safety representation rights, and that representatives receive WorkSafe BC certified safety training.
Researchers also tracked “innovative policies” in practice in the UK and Australia and recommend that pilot projects involving some of those practices should be considered here.
The study points out that since the Jan. 7, 1981 Bentall tragedy some 707 construction workers have died in B.C. due to workplace accidents and causes. It also notes that B.C. construction workers have an occupational fatality rate that is three times the overall provincial rate.
The study is being released today by the B.C. Building Trades Council and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). Calvert and fellow CCPA research associate David Fairey are co-authors.
To download their complete report see the CCPA website (http://www.policyalterntives.ca/).