Alberta has fewer occupational health and safety inspectors than in the rest of Canada and more workplace deaths than the national average. In 2009, the Government of Alberta spent less per worker on occupational health and safety than it did in 1991. At the same time, the number of Albertans working in dangerous occupations more than doubled.
Link to "Danger: Workers at Risk"
Current AFL Health and Safety Recommendations
- Mandatory Joint Worksite Health and Safety Committees
- Administrative Fines for Employers With Unsafe Worksites
- Increase OH&S Inspectors and Inspections
- Increase Resources for Prosecutions
- Post Employer Safety Records Online
Current AFL Health and Safety Recommendations
The AFL's recommendations to make our workplaces safer are simple and straightforward. Most are in place in other provinces in Canada. It's time for Alberta to reverse our health and safety record, and to lead the country in keeping people safe at work.
Recommendation # 1: Joint Worksite Health and Safety Committees (JWHSCs)
Employer/worker health and safety committees should be mandatory. These committees provide an avenue for concerns and complaints and a structure for decision-making. They are the medium to keep employers and workers talking about safety issues and are key to involving workers in pragmatic ways to keep workplaces safe.
Every other province in Canada has joint employer/worker health and safety committees.
Recommendation #2: Administrative Fines for Employers With Unsafe Worksites
Inspectors should be able to issue tickets on-site for safety violations during proactive inspections. Furthermore, the AFL takes the position that it should be employers that are fined for safety violations, not workers.
Five other provinces (B.C., Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia) issue fines to employers who maintain unsafe worksites.
Recommendation #3: Increase OH&S Inspectors and Inspections
In 1991, the Government of Alberta spent $11.14 per worker on occupational health and safety programs; in 2009, we spent $10.13 per worker.
Alberta spends less than some other jurisdictions on worker health and safety programs. In 2009, Ontario spent $10.80/worker, Nova Scotia $13.61/worker, and Manitoba $11.73/worker.
The Government of Alberta employs only 1.4 health and safety inspectors per ten thousand workers; the national average is 2.08. Only B.C. (1.0) and Quebec (1.1) employ fewer inspectors per ten thousand workers than Alberta.
At the same time, the number of Albertans working in construction, manufacturing, mining and/or oil and gas, and transportation - the industries responsible for the highest number of disabling injuries and fatalities - grew by 50%.
Alberta should increase the number of inspectors, the number of proactive, surprise inspections, off-hours inspections, to reflect the reality of our workforce.
Recommendation #4: Increase Resources for Prosecutions
Alberta's 2006-2009 prosecution rate for on-the-job deaths is 2.8%. Of the 142 people who lost their lives while working during this time, the province prosecuted less than 3% of the employers involved. They have laid charges in only 15% of these cases.
In 2008, Alberta was the least likely province to penalize workplace safety offenders.
The government has been criticized in the media and in the legal community for "cherry-picking" prosecutions - devoting minimal resources to only the most blatant and "winnable" cases and failing to give Crown Prosecutors enough resources to go after more complex cases.
Alberta needs to take worksite fatalities and injuries seriously. We should immediately increase resources for prosecuting employers whose unsafe worksites case injury and death.
Recommendation #5: Post Employer Safety Records Online
The government's recent announcement that they will post employers' lost time due to injury is a broken promise.
The Alberta government's initial promise - eight years ago - was to post safety records online. This means health and safety inspection reports, number of fatalities, and number and type of disabling injuries. Instead, lost-time claims are inaccessible statistics that mean little to average workers.
The AFL recommends a full, transparent, and fair process for posting employer safety records. Those who maintain safe worksites will have nothing to hide. Those who don't will be easily held to public account.
It should be noted that health inspection reports are available in other industries. For example, Alberta posts restaurant inspections online. The policy for workers' health and safety should be no different.
Other Health and Safety Issues
Working Alone
The AFL is pushing for for provincial regulations that minimize the risks of working alone. Many other provinces - including Manitoba, Ontario, and British Columbia - have these kinds of rules. Working-alone legislation should:
- Require the employer to present a document, to be signed by the employee, detailing the hazards of working alone and how they have been addressed by the employer before the worker is permitted to work alone.
- The worker should be allowed to refuse to work alone if they feel their health and safety is at "substantial risk" due to the hazards of working alone.
- The Minister of Employment and Immigration should be given the power to order certain types of work as "high hazard" and that this work not be performed alone at anytime.
- An "effective communication system" should be in place for workers to call out in an emergency, as well as a system for regular check-in by a person able to provide assistance.
Child Labour in Alberta
The AFL also spoke out strongly when the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission (AGLC) changed its policies in 2007 to allow minors aged 12-17 to work in the kitchens of bars and lounges.
While minors aren't allowed in bars, the AGLC saw no problem in allowing them to work behind the scenes in the kitchen of a bar or lounge. Instead of acting to protect children, the Alberta government chose instead to cater to the interests of employers complaining about a labour shortage.
