I would be embarrassed working for that outfit, IMO it now has a reputation that brands them as being incompetent.

‘IMO it now has a reputation that brands them as being incompetent.’

That’s because of their self-entitled union attitude – Worksafe BC is a race-to-the-bottom mediocracy.

Who oversees, and is responsible for, WorkSafeBC VOR? The answer is the Christy Clark Government, nice try at deflecting the blame at the union for WorkSafeBC’s “race-to-the-bottom” as you so aptly decribed it.

Good luck at trying to get the Christy Clark Government to step up and take responsibility, because IMO they are anything but a responsible government!

Another tried and true union tactic to deflect attention away from their collective poor performance – blame management.

‘Boo hoo – management is holding back our hard-working union brothers and sisters from doing a terrific job’. How much sense does that make?

I would love to know why all these Union haters hate unions so much.. For everything they get due to unions fighting for them is interesting for the hate they show.

Yes unions do make mistakes when they back the lousy employees..but

We have normal working hours, vacations, benifits, retirement funds, a good wage.. Etc etc. thanks to unions.

Why do I have a feeling the union haters own their own businesses and are horrible bosses.

Guess what? Job sites will go much better now, without the bumbling WCB bulldogs slowing down progress.

Hopefully workers/bosses won’t violate any safety rules knowing they won’t be visited by work safe if they do go on strike.
Thinking pg101 would in a heart beat

PVAl, I’m a big believer in putting the power back in the workplace, and taking it away from of the bullies at WCB. Have you ever seen them in a residential job site? Nope, you never will. They only pick on the contractors who can pay the fines, and who are worth their time. Ever seen a Work Safe vehicle ask a roofing company why they don’t have harnesses on? Nope. You won’t, not unless it’s a large company doing a job on a visible street.

Again, it’s targeted enforcement. There are several great people in the field at Worksafe, the rare breed who have actually done construction and understand the logistics of a job site. The rest float around in their vehicles, pointing out infractions from their front seat while chomping down a Big Mac and slurping an enormous soft drink.

Stop drinking the Kool Aid, no reputable contractor want’s to see their valuable employees injured, that isn’t productive. The guys getting the real injuries tend to work for the small companies, that WSBC completely ignores..

PG101 states; “The guys getting the real injuries tend to work for the small companies, that WSBC completely ignores.”

Actually the guys getting the real injuries are the workers period, particularly in the large companies where you won’t see the owners or managers rub shoulders with the workers on a production line, or on a roof. Couple that with your comment about WorkSafeBC Inspectors not even leaving the front seat of their vehicles, and you are left with only the workers being in a position of getting hurt on the job, yes… they take all the risks it would seem.

How come the union haters never complain about the exutives making ?10,000 an hour?

And how come Union haters never complain about MLAs salaries and bloated pensions?

I agree that worksafe doesn’t check the small companies enough. I have worked for contractors whose lifting devices should have been condemned because the hooks on them were damaged. But if I would have quit over it I wouldn’t have been able to collect EI to tide me over until I got another job. Worksafe also seems to not have a consistent plan about what is right or wrong. One mill be told they have to revamp all the guards on their drives to a new level and the next mill whose guards are worse then the first will get a pass on their guards. I once worked at place where there was no guard on a drive for a machine and the boss refused to remedy the problem and one of the workers made a complaint to Worksafe about it and an inspector came to look into it and gave the company a clean bill of health. That realy pisses me off. But if Worksafe was not around it would be very much worse.

seamutt and oldman1, surely you aren’t talking about me, right??

I have been consistent in my views that we are long overdue for a complete review and rationalization of our Government, from the very top to the very bottom! This review must include Government at all levels, Federal, Provincial and Municipal and the services provided! Such a review of course, would include MLA’s salaries and bloated pensions!

By the way, our left-wing opposition MLA’s also receive high salaries and bloated pensions!

Seamutt, your issue with executives making $10,000.00 per hour is a whole other issue, and $10,000.00 per hour would be the exception rather than the rule. I am in no way defending executives and executive compensation, however executive salaries are approved by Boards of Directors and by shareholders. Most executives can also be fired for non-performance! They can also be let go if there are economic changes! Try that in a union shop! Most executives work for private or public corporations where the shareholders have voting privileges as shareholders. This gives them the ability to complain, initiate change and even vote to terminate an executive, a director and even an entire board of directors. Try that is a union shop!

And what kind of compensation package do these executives get..the golden parachute..hundreds of thousands of dollars..and what does the worker get..just a final pay check of his regular pay..

I suppose that executives and union personal get paid relative to their contribution to the companies well being,. One would hardly expect that a union job as a janitor would pay the same as a Manager, VP, or CEO. Everything is, or should be relative.

No one in their right mind would suggest that we can operate in this Country without unions. Unions are the buffer between the worker and management and protect the rights of the workers,. Having said that, unions also go to far and end up supporting people who’s jobs should have been eliminated years ago, or people who spend all their time trying to avoid doing any work.

So we need balance in the workplace. Unions looking after reasonable wage and benefits, and management looking after the interests and well being of the company without exploiting workers.

Will we ever get this balance?? Probably not.

I’m with Palopu. I’m a union member and can say with certainty that the vast majority of the union’s efforts are focused on defending union members who are blatantly bad employees. Unions aren’t always right, and Management isn’t always right but hopefully someday they can strike a line down the middle.

I don’t know where you all work but if a company wants to fire you then they will…..Union or not.

I agree Merc.. if the company has a paper trail of the employees actions and what they have done to try to help the employee ets they can terminate them with just cause… I have worked in both union environments and non union… in both situations I have seen employees terminated..on two it was safety violations..another was time stealing ( he called in sick and yet was seen working on the side 3 businesses away)

Yes I don’t understand where people get the idea that if you work in a Union you can’t be terminated.

Palopu, I agree with you regarding your comment about achieving balance, and the likelihood that it will ever happen! I think that personal agendas and power trips on both sides of the equation will prevent balance from ever happening!

Palopu, great post. PVal; “what does the worker get..just a final pay check of his regular pay..”. That all depends on why a person loses their job. Justifiable termination? Yep all you will get is a paycheque & deservedly so. Wrongful termination? Although you would have to fight for it ( just like a union position) you would get compensated. Permanent lay off? Under the Labour Code you are entitled to severance pay after 30 days off the job. Interestingly, depending on the collective agreement, if you are union & are permanently laid off, you could wait as much as 4 years for any compensation…just ask any of the former Winton Global employees.

Companies (small and large) pay large amounts of money to WorkSafe but when a worker is injured, WorkSafe doesn’t like to pay out any money to that injured worker. How is this a fair system? WorkSafe fights tooth and nail to stop a worker from getting paid. System’s broken while the WorkSafe employees make great money.