Presented at FMC's Employment and Labour Seminar: Occupational Health and Safety in Vancouver, this presentation addresses the public concern for safety in the workpalce. Also addressed is A-1 Mushroom Substratum Ltd. and H.V. Truong Ltd. case study, problems employers are facing and recent trends in this area.
2. Public Concern for Safety in the Workplace
Jim Sinclair (BC Federation of Labour) has called for jail time for
directors of two BC companies in connection with fatalities and injuries
on a Langley mushroom farm
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6. The Problem for Employers
• an aging population requiring greater health care
• World Health Organization predicts that depression will be the
second leading cause of disability in the world by 2020
• the estimated cost to the Canadian economy in health care
and lost productivity due to mental illness is $51 billion
• Chrysalis Performance Inc. research shows that stress in a
business may contribute up to 19% of absenteeism cost
(Burton, 2006)
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7. The Problem for Employers (cont.)
• 2010 Worksafe BC Claims ‐ $889,241,636
• 2,816,989 days lost from work in 2010 due to occupational injury, illness
and disease
• mental health is the number one cause of disability in Canada – it accounts
for nearly 30% of disability claims and 70% of total costs
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8. Days lost per worker due to illness or disability, by
province
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Both sexes
number of days
Canada 7.6 8.1 7.9 7.8 7.4
Newfoundland and Labrador 8.2 8.2 8.2 9.9 9.2
Prince Edward Island 7.0 6.8 7.4 6.9 7.4
Nova Scotia 9.0 9.9 9.7 9.3 8.1
New Brunswick 9.7 8.8 8.9 8.6 9.1
Quebec 9.3 9.8 9.3 9.7 8.9
Ontario 6.6 7.2 7.4 6.9 6.3
Manitoba 8.1 8.7 9.1 8.3 8.5
Saskatchewan 8.7 8.3 8.1 8.2 7.6
Alberta 6.6 6.9 6.1 6.0 6.2
British Columbia 7.6 8.3 8.0 7.8 7.9
Source: Statistics Canada, CANSIM, table 279‐0029.
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9. Days lost per worker by cause, by province
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
All causes
number of days
Canada 9.7 9.9 9.7 9.5 9.1
Newfoundland and Labrador 9.8 9.7 9.7 11.5 11.0
Prince Edward Island 8.6 8.3 8.8 8.5 9.2
Nova Scotia 10.8 11.8 11.3 11.2 9.8
New Brunswick 11.5 10.5 10.8 10.3 10.4
Quebec 11.5 11.4 10.8 11.0 10.4
Ontario 8.8 9.1 9.3 8.7 8.2
Manitoba 10.1 10.6 11.0 10.0 10.4
Saskatchewan 11.0 10.4 10.3 10.4 9.6
Alberta 9.0 8.9 8.2 7.8 8.1
British Columbia 9.4 10.1 9.7 9.8 9.3
Source: Statistics Canada, CANSIM, table 279‐0029.
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