WorkSafe Overhaul Plan Step in Right Direction Says Union Boss
Prince George, B.C.- United Steelworkers local 1-424 president Frank Everitt says the McAtee report issued this morning, “is a step in the right direction to restore confidence among workers about safety on the job.”
The report, (see previous story) calls for the division of WorkSafe investigative teams into two units. One would redo an investigation should the other discover any hint of criminality. The two would not share workspace, files or any information.
The report also calls for changes that would see WorkSafe BC use world class best practices “I don’t think you can argue with that” says Everitt, “ We want to have a world class WorkSafe that looks after the workers.”
Everitt says the stiffer penalties outlined in the report are all right for repeat offenders but says that is not what’s really important to workers “Compliance of the order (issued by WorkSafe) is what’s important, not the penalty. We want to have the order addressed and followed.”
Everitt says the report and its recommendations are the first steps to restore confidence that WorkSafe can be effective in protecting workers “We need to have that, and the recommendations need to be implemented quickly. Some have dates set, other dates have yet to be found, but I appreciate Minister Bond saying they need to be done immediately, I look forward to that.”
McAtee was mandated with 5 priorities to outline the overhaul of WorkSafe BC in the wake of the investigations into the fatal Babine and Lakeland Mills explosions. No criminal charges were laid as the Crown made it clear there was no likelihood of conviction because evidence had been gathered without warrants and people were interviewed without having been made aware of their charter rights.
His work built on the Dyble report which called for the overhaul of WorkSafe BC.
Comments
Gordon Campbell cut WCB to ribbons, safety regulations , inspectors good to see the change coming sad people had to die to make it happen. Then again that’s always the way, industry can’t regulate its self
Good comment steph99, I completely agree!
I hope Mr Everitt reads this we need to stop filing grievances when workers fail to work safe. Employee’s continue to take short cuts fail to follow safe work procedures fail to lock out, fail to report unsafe acts
Workers will be completely safe when they’re unemployed.
And that’ll be the end result of this kind of overhaul of WorkSafeBC, if it goes ahead.
Smaller, family firms will get rid of their hired help, downsize, un-incorporate, and just run their plants with their own family members as ‘partners’. Freeing them from the burgeoning bureaucracy and increasingly inane rules mandated by WorkSafe.
Who increasingly can’t seem to realize that ‘one size’ all too often DOESN’T fit ‘al’ in regards to many of their growing list of requirements.
Private insurance to cover accidental injury or even death will be taken out to cover the ‘partners’, and those outside the family who previously enjoyed working in ‘human’ scaled operations can go try their luck getting a job with one of the (fewer, too)’big boys’.
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