NEWSWATCH | DEPARTMENT
IOHA to Hold International Conference in Rome
Alberta Begins Posting Safety Records Online
In response to a report documenting lax enforcement of safety regulations within Alberta, the province will begin posting the safety
records of all Alberta companies online in September. The records
will list reported injury rates and will be updated every year. The
postings will not identify which companies have been ordered to
fix safety violations.
Alberta Minister of Employment and Immigration Thomas
Lukaszuk stated in a press release, “Let this serve as official notice
for any Alberta company that doesn’t want to play by the rules.
Today is a new day for occupational health and safety in Alberta.”
In April, Alberta Auditor General Merwan Saher issued a report
showing that orders to improve safety at 63 companies with high
injury rates had not been followed.
Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) President Gil McGowan criticized the government for not agreeing to reveal the names of employers that violate the safety code. “Employers are not being
made to pay the price for putting the workers’ lives at risk,” McGowan said in an AFL press release.
The posting of injury rates is one portion of a ten-point plan released by the Alberta Department of Employment and Immigration
to improve occupational health and safety. Other aspects of the
plan include launching an internal software program to improve
data collection and reporting systems, reviewing occupational
health and safety awards programs, and introducing a pilot project
for weekend and evening work site inspections.
The press release from the Alberta Department of Employment
and Immigration can be found at http://alberta.ca/acn/201007/
2889723E2A23E-EF3A-579A-4975011CF468C352.html. A PDF of
the April 2010 report of the Auditor General of Alberta is posted
at www.oag.ab.ca/files/oag/OAGApr2010report.pdf. To read the
AFL press release, visit www.afl.org/index.php/Press-Release/
watered-down-website-for-workplace-safety-represents-lost-opportunity-to-save-lives.html.
September 2010 ; The Synergist
Circle Fax-back Card No. 19
