SFL offers to host emergency meeting to develop a Worker Fatalities Crisis Strategy
Released December 3, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 3, 2018
SFL offers to host emergency meeting to develop a Worker Fatalities Crisis Strategy
The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour (SFL) is calling on the Sask. Party government to take urgent action on the province’s current worker fatalities crisis, and has offered to host an emergency meeting with stakeholders to develop a comprehensive strategy to better protect workers.
“We need a comprehensive Worker Fatalities Crisis Strategy in Saskatchewan. The provincial government has not done enough to protect workers in this province, so the SFL is now taking on that leadership role; we hope the provincial government will join with us,” said SFL President Lori Johb, “if the provincial government will join with us to better protect workers, we stand ready to host an emergency meeting of worker organizations, the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB), and other stakeholders to develop a comprehensive plan to deal with the worker fatalities crisis we are facing,” she added.
Workplace fatalities have jumped significantly in 2018. By the end of September of this year, the number of worker deaths had already reached 40 – with many more workers having been injured on the job in that time.
In addition to joining with the SFL to develop a comprehensive Worker Fatalities Crisis Strategy, there are a few things the provincial government can do immediately to help protect workers and save lives:
- Begin a widespread public awareness campaign to inform Saskatchewan people of the current worker fatalities crisis, and educate workers on their three fundamental occupational health and safety rights: the right to know, the right to participate, and the right to refuse;
- Commit to publishing all incident reports in an accessible online format, as is done in British Columbia;
- Commit to publishing all investigation reports in an accessible online format, similar to the process in Alberta.
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For additional information, contact:
Kent Peterson
Strategic Advisor
Saskatchewan Federation of Labour
m: 1 (306) 570-1855
e: k.peterson@sfl.sk.ca
