EDITORIAL
Too young to die, refuse unsafe work
March 28, 2009
BY This Week Staff
This Week offers our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Bradley Ebbers.
His death at 19 years old on a construction site in Kanata is a terrible loss.
The Ministry of Labour is still investigating the death of the young Metcalfe resident, so we can’t comment on what caused his death, but it’s clear that 19 is simply too young to die.
Media coverage of the former St. Mark student’s death has used the word “accident” a lot, but “accident” doesn’t seem appropriate for an event that caused the death of a young man. It has implications that it is just a chance event that happened.
Like the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board commercials say, “there really are no accidents.”
“Accidents” are preventable. People need to speak up when their employer asks them to do something that feels dangerous or unsafe. Unfortunately, for a young person starting on the job, it may seem intimidating to tell your boss that you’re worried.
No matter what your age, it important for workers to:
* Demand proper training.
* Wear proper safety equipment.
* Refuse unsafe work.
Remember, in most cases workers have a right to refuse unsafe work without losing their job. For more information on this topic, visit
prevent-it.ca. There’s also a site specifically for young workers called
www.youngworker.ca.
Employers also have responsibilities to keep workers safe. If you’re an employer and want to know more about what you should be doing to prevent accidents, there’s a link on
prevent-it.ca to information about your responsibilities, as well as tools to help you get started making your workplace safe for your employees.
When it comes to the workplace, it is always better to be safe then sorry.
Full article here...