Panels forming safety policy.

With statistics showing that workplace injuries cost Ontario industry billions of dollars in lost production, the new Ontario government has set up a series of joint industry-labour panels to tackle the problem and is already seeing results, say government spokesmen and panel members.

"The strength of this is that it gives us first-hand experience. Both sides give their take on best safety practices and what works and what doesn't work," says Ontario Labour Minister Chris Bentley.

So far, the government has set up panels to look at the construction, manufacturing and health services industries. The panels typically include industry and labour players who are "active in the health and safety aspects of their organizations."

According to Bentley, each of the panels has already met three times.

The newly-appointed Labour Minister says he decided to establish the panels after seeing that discussions he chaired between members of both the industry and organized labour pointed to a single problem: the need for a new workplace safety policy framework. The consensus between the two sides was so strong that Bentley felt that something needed to be done.

The aim of the panels is to develop a strategy that would create a system covering education, legislation and an eventual enforcement mechanism.

So far, the panels have revealed some common problems that Bentley believes need immediate action. The first area he has identified is the safety of younger workers. Ontario lacks specific policy, he says, to make sure younger workers are not injured on the job.

"Entry-level workers are about six times as likely to be injured during their first 30 days at work than at any other time during their working years," says Bentley. The immediate task of the government is to develop safety training for these workers, he says.

"This is about relevant on-site training, not just book learning," he emphasizes.

The safety panels also conclude that something must be done to curb what Bentley and industry players call the "underground construction industry." This refers to construction operations that are unregulated and untaxed. Bentley claims that such operations cost the government about $2 billion in lost tax revenues annually. He also asserts that they are usually unsafe workplaces.

"You can't regulate what you can't see," he says.

"Workers in this industry are usually young and are not briefed appropriately by their supervisors about safety. They are also not plugged into the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) system, so there often isn't an incentive to be safe," Bentley claims.

Bentley hopes to work with the construction industry in bringing an end to the practice.

A key strength of the initiative, says one panel member from the business community, is that it provides an opportunity to demonstrate the advantages of having a safer workplace.

Ian Howcroft sits on the manufacturing panel as a business representative. He is currently vice-president of the Ontario division for Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, a national networking group for the industry. He says the business panel members are making a strong case for business "buying into" the idea of worker safety.

"This is positive because it improves the bottom line for business," Howcroft says.

Howcroft estimates it costs a business about $50,000 whenever a worker is injured. This includes the cost of training a new worker to replace the injured one. By preventing accidents from happening, companies save in the end.

The best aspect of participating in the panels is the sharing of safety practices between companies, he says. Industry is able to see what is working and what does not. This saves them time and money in exploring all the alternatives.

Not everything about the panels, however, has been as nice and rosy, says Howcroft. He is a strong proponent of promoting tangible incentives to industry to come on-board, a move that organized labour is fighting. A concrete incentive, he contends, is the use of the 'experience ratings' system, a pilot project currently being tested by the WSIB. The system allows companies that reduce or eliminate workplace accidents to see reduced WSIB premiums or receive rebates later. Howcroft says that businesses can directly improve safety by making it a part of their bottom line. Labour, he says, believes that having these ratings will induce some businesses to hide accidents to get the rebates.

Labour Minister Bentley, however, believes that having the panels is a way to sort through these differences and hammer out a compromise.

The business of the panels, says Bentley, will continue over the next few years. Bentley says he expects to see action plans in place after the completion of the panels.

www.gov.on.ca/LAB/english/

www.wsib.on.ca/wsib/wsibsite.nsf/public/Home_e

BY JOSEPH QUESNEL 

Northern Ontario Business