New Brunswick’s workers’ compensation authority has launched an initiative to improve worker safety in the province’s waste-collection industry. Safe Waste Collection (SWC), announced by WorkSafeNB on Sept. 1, is a strategy aiming to promote safety culture in the sector.
A two-year initiative, SWC will focus on safety education, compliance activities, public awareness of safety issues and recommendations for mandatory safety policies in the industry, according to a WorkSafeNB press release. This month, WorkSafeNB representatives will begin consulting with every single employer in the industry to discuss health and safety procedures and practices.
“As we have done with other high-risk industries, WorkSafeNB is focusing its efforts to help workers in waste collection,” WorkSafeNB president and CEO Gerard Adams said in a press statement. “Waste collectors face risks daily. They have a difficult job.
“We are working with employers and workers to ensure they have the resources and support needed to reduce these risks,” added Adams.
Backgrounder information from WorkSafeNB noted that the province had seen four fatalities in the waste-collection sector since 2003. The organization also claimed that waste-collection employees in New Brunswick were three times as likely as employees in any other sector in the province to become injured at work.
The initiative is a result of consultations between WorkSafeNB and numerous stakeholders, including private waste-collection employers, municipal governments and regional service commissions. Feedback from stakeholders in the industry helped to form the program’s strategies.
Another major aspect of the SWC program will be increased training and orientation for waste-collection workers, WorkSafeNB stated. Next spring, the organization plans to start inspecting industry employers’ facilities and mobile equipment. At about the same time, WorkSafeNB will also launch a public-awareness campaign aimed at homeowners, illustrating how they can help provide a safer job environment for these workers.
Among the ways that residents can help waste collectors, as suggested by WorkSafeNB, are to keep trash bags free from sharp objects and within recommended weight limits and to remove any tripping dangers from curbsides or the ends of driveways. “Your curbside is their workplace,” said Adams.
WorkSafeNB also intends to lobby for those who award work contracts in the sector to base their choices partially on safety policies and procedures. “Like the construction industry,” noted Adams, “we want safety to be a priority in the bidding process.”
SWC is the latest strategy by WorkSafeNB to curb workplace injuries and fatalities in the province. Previous WorkSafeNB initiatives in past years have focused on employee safety in construction, forestry, retail and nursing homes.
More information on SWC is available online at http://www.worksafenb.ca/safe-waste-collection.