PROSECUTIONS FOCUS ON WORKER FALL PROTECTION

Sixteen charges have been laid under provincial occupational health and safety legislation this spring. There have been nine convictions to date, dealing with the failure by employers, contractors, workers and self-employed persons to use proper fall and head protection at worksites.

Those recently convicted include: MR Steel Construction Ltd., Deianna General Construction Ltd., Chad Roulston, Carmen Wintonyk, Sean Schauenberg, Everflow Eaves & Exteriors Inc., Walter Industrial Mechanical Ltd., R & F Stucco & Masonry and Keith Foster.

Fall protection involves the use of guardrails, safety nets and fall-arresting devices for people working above ground level. Other requirements concern the use of head protection, such as hard hats.

The charges are part of a concerted effort by Occupational Health and Safety Division to reduce workplace injuries and illnesses. Saskatchewan Workers' Compensation Board accepted over 3,700 injuries from falls in 2004. Close to half, about 1,500, were related to construction work.

"Fall protection and other measures to ensure safety, have been required by law for years," Occupational Health and Safety Division Executive Director Allan Walker said. "Non-compliance, particularly in construction, remains a serious concern.

We continue to emphasize an educational approach with the large majority of Saskatchewan workplaces that are committed to safe workplaces. Enforcement measures are needed to curb non-compliance on worksites neglecting safety and risking lives."

Current fines levied against individuals and smaller firms have ranged from $200, where no injury to workers has occurred, to $8,000 where injuries have occurred.

Maximum penalties for an offence that causes the death or serious injury of a worker are $300,000 and two years in jail.

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For More Information, Contact:

Jennifer Fabian Labour Regina Phone: (306) 787-4498