“The message is clear – worker’s lives are cheap”

Workplace fatalities or serious injuries are happening more frequently in B.C., according to an annual report from WorkSafeBC.

In 2008, WorkSafeBC imposed 152 penalties totalling more than $2.7 million against B.C. companies for violations of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations and the Workers Compensation Act.

One of the largest fines, at $67,936, was issued to TimberWest Forest Corporation for a 2005 incident that killed a man falling trees on steep terrain near Nanoose.

Timberwest was cited for failing to ensure the health and safety of all workers present at the site where the company’s work was being carried out.

“Many of the 2008 penalties are associated with a fatality or serious injury, which are devastating to the worker and their families,” said Roberta Ellis, vice-president of policy, investigations and review at WorkSafeBC. “Our focus must be on preventing these tragedies.”

The largest fine issued in 2008, for $150,000, was against Encana Corporation in Dawson Creek after a workplace fatality.

In Nanaimo, Milne Roofing Ltd. was given a $14,193 fine after four workers were observed without any means of fall protection while working six metres above the ground.

Jim Sinclair, president of the B.C. Federation of Labour, says the fines are much too low to provide a deterrence to keep workers safe.

He said a $150,000 fine to a company like Encana, which reported a third quarter cash flow of $2.8 billion, is not enough.

“The message is clear – worker’s lives are cheap,” said Sinclair. “In most cases, these fatalities and injuries were entirely avoidable had the companies provided training and equipment and complied with safety regulations.”

WorkSafeBC penalizes companies when there have been serious or repeated violations of laws or codes. Penalty size is determined by the size of the company and the seriousness of the violations.

In 2008, the organization increased its inspection frequency by 10 per cent to 32,959 inspections while issuing 60,904 orders.

Since 2007, WorkSafeBC has targeted traditionally dangerous work sectors like gas stations, forestry operations, farm transport vehicles and construction sites.

“When consultation and education fail to change an employer’s approach to health and safety in their workplace we have to consider sanctions such as penalties,” said Ellis.

For Sinclair, that doesn’t go far enough when a worker is injured or killed.

He points to a Lower Mainland crash on the Trans Canada Highway in 2007 in which three farm workers were killed and 13 more injured after the van they were riding in flipped over a median. The owner of the van, RHA Enterprises, was fined $69,800.

“WCB can levy fines up to $519,000 but their fines have never come close to that amount,” Sinclair said. “In order to protect workers these fines have to be a real deterrent, not a minor item line that is barely noticed by employers. WCB needs to ensure that the owners ... pay this fine. If not, they need to be prosecuted and sent to jail.”

reporter2@nanaimobulletin.com