Recommended changes to workplace inspections and investigations don’t go far enough in preventing potentially deadly accidents, says the BC Federation of Labour.
The B.C. government released a report written by WorkSafeBC administrator Gordon Macatee on July 15. The report was written in the wake of a flawed investigation by WorkSafeBC into two fatal sawmill explosions and fires in 2012.
While WorkSafeBC had recommended laying charges under provincial law, B.C.’s Crown prosecutor did not decide to lay charges because WorkSafeBC had failed to obtain search warrants or inform interview subjects of their charter rights.
WorkSafeBC’s investigations of the accidents showed they were preventable and likely caused by accumulations of potentially explosive sawdust.
Macatee’s report recommends better cooperation between WorkSafeBC, police and the Criminal Justice Branch, including signing memorandums of understanding between the three agencies and developing a new investigation model. The province has said it will implement those recommendations immediately.
The BC Federation of Labour says it agrees with the report’s recommendation to strengthen WorkSafeBC’s enforcement of safety rules and making it possible to prosecute employers.
But the labour group says it would like to see a dedicated Crown prosecutor who specializes in workplace deaths, as well as better training for police, WorkSafeBC and prosecutors on criminal negligence in the workplace.
The BC Federation of Labour also opposes the report’s recommendation that workers should be financially penalized for safety infractions.
“It is the employer who has the power and legal responsibility to create and enforce a safe workplace,” said Irene Lanzinger, secretary treasurer at the BC Federation of labour. “All this does is shift the blame and responsibility from the employer to the worker.”
However, Macatee’s report said that on-site worker ticketing is in place in other jursdictions and will foster “an important concept of shared responsibility for health and safety in the workplace.”
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