Canada has one of the worst records for workplace deaths in the industrialized world
While 40 per cent of Canadian workers say health and safety practices have improved in the last year, Canada has one of the worst records for workplace deaths among industrialized countries, according to two recent reports.
A survey conducted by Ipsos-Reid in July revealed while less than 10 per cent of Canadian workers say health and safety has deteriorated in the last year, 54 per cent of employees do not receive health and safety training from their employer or supervisor, 30 per cent say some workers are afraid to report workplace accidents or injuries and more than 20 per cent say employees regularly ignore health and safety procedures.
And a new study just released from the Ottawa-based Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS), concludes Canada’s workplace fatality rate is tied with Italy’s for the worst among Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, with seven deaths per 100,000 workers in 2001 (see chart). In the United States, the rate was four per 100,000.
The CSLS report concedes some of the variation in numbers between countries could be partly due to different practices in linking deaths to work, for example whether fatalities include deaths at the work site only or deaths sometime after the initial injury.
Canada fares slightly better when it comes to non-fatal workplace injuries. Canada had the fourth worst record behind France, Italy and Germany. There were about 3,100 workplace injuries per 100,000 workers in Canada, compared to 4,400 in France.
A survey conducted by Ipsos-Reid in July revealed while less than 10 per cent of Canadian workers say health and safety has deteriorated in the last year, 54 per cent of employees do not receive health and safety training from their employer or supervisor, 30 per cent say some workers are afraid to report workplace accidents or injuries and more than 20 per cent say employees regularly ignore health and safety procedures.
And a new study just released from the Ottawa-based Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS), concludes Canada’s workplace fatality rate is tied with Italy’s for the worst among Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, with seven deaths per 100,000 workers in 2001 (see chart). In the United States, the rate was four per 100,000.
The CSLS report concedes some of the variation in numbers between countries could be partly due to different practices in linking deaths to work, for example whether fatalities include deaths at the work site only or deaths sometime after the initial injury.
Canada fares slightly better when it comes to non-fatal workplace injuries. Canada had the fourth worst record behind France, Italy and Germany. There were about 3,100 workplace injuries per 100,000 workers in Canada, compared to 4,400 in France.
