This is just a friendly reminder. With the forecast calling for extremely hot temperatures over the next week, we just want to send a quick reminder to ensure you are taking care of yourselves during this time and if you are working outside please take precautions to avoid heat stroke and/or heat exhaustion. Tips: Drink…
Read MoreCOVID-19 Vaccine Fast Lane for Construction Workers – Help Spread the Word!
BCCA is pleased to announce BC’s first COVID-19 vaccine “fast lane” for construction workers, in partnership with Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health. Starting next week, any workers in our industry can just show up at these clinics on designated dates and times to get their first dose: The Italian Cultural Center (Vancouver) The Christine…
Read MoreBC’s Construction Industry Is ‘Ground Zero’ for Opioid Crisis among Workers
Substance use has plagued the trades for a long time. It’s now more serious than ever. David Hogben | 24 Jun 2021 | TheTyee.ca Five years after British Columbia’s opioid overdose crisis was declared a public health emergency, there is little reason to celebrate. “Five years? That makes me want to cry right there,” said Jud Martell, co-ordinator of…
Read MoreWorkSafeBC has already approved more COVID-19 claims this year than in all of 2020
Vancouver Sun | Nathan Griffiths | Jun 20, 2021 There has been a “significant reduction” in the number of claims registered in June, however, said a spokesperson. WorkSafeBC approved over 2,000 claims for work-related COVID-19 exposures by June 11 — almost 300 more than were approved in all of 2020. Claims increased in virtually every industry, with the…
Read More‘Just show up’: Fast lane organized for construction worker vaccinations
Journal of Commerce | DCN-JOC News Services | June 17, 2021 VANCOUVER —B.C.’s construction organizations want workers to know they have a fast lane to COVID-19 vaccinations. All they have to do is show up. “We have enormous respect for our workforce and the essential contribution they’ve made to B.C.’s economy by working throughout pandemic,” said…
Read MoreCompulsory trades announcement ‘needless red tape,’ says ICBA’s Gardner
Journal of Commerce | Russell Hixson | June 14, 2021 It’s official. B.C. will be implementing a compulsory trades certification system for the first time in 18 years. While the province’s Building Trades Unions praised the action as a great start to restoring training and improving the lives of workers, the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association…
Read MoreLes Leyne: Every government thinks it has the right answer on trades training
Les Leyne | Times Colonist | June 16, 2021 B.C. is reimposing mandatory certification requirements in 10 trades with more to come, citing the same rationale the previous B.C. Liberal government used to drop the requirements 18 years ago. How can two different governments look at the same set of problems and respond with diametrically-opposed…
Read MoreRecent work-related incidents reported to WorkSafeBC
June 16, 2021 Construction incident summaries are based on information obtained as soon as possible after the incidents: they are preliminary and subject to change. Details have been edited to protect workers’ privacy. See additional summaries online. Injury Type: Close call Core Activity: Crane operation Location: Vancouver Island/Coastal B.C. Date of Incident: 2021-May A crane operator was telescoping out boom…
Read MoreSupporting skilled trades workers, strengthening B.C’s recovery
Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training | News Release | June 11, 2021 VICTORIA – The Province is launching a made-in-B.C. certification system to support higher-paying, more stable work for trades workers and to help build the foundation of a strong economic recovery. The new skilled trades certification system will help deliver steady employment for…
Read MoreBC Restart Update
June 10, 2021 | WorkSafeBC The B.C. government has announced a four-step plan to gradually begin to restart important social connections, businesses, and activities. Since the government announced its plan, WorkSafeBC has been working with Public Health to develop a workplace health and safety approach aligned with the four-step plan. We are currently in step 1 of…
Read MoreWorkSafeBC strikes balance between religious freedoms and safety with new hard hat rule
Journal of Commerce | Grant Cameron | June 11, 2021 Construction employers are commending WorkSafeBC and the province for walking a tightrope and coming up with regulatory changes that protect religious freedoms while ensuring worksites remain safe. “Construction sectors across this country are no stranger to policy and regulations and legislation that often goes against the grain or somehow doesn’t make…
Read MoreThe Very Serious Employment Consequences of Breaching COVID-19 Safety Protocols
June 7, 2021 | Article by: James D. Kondopulos | Roper Greyell The problems and challenges which the COVID-19 pandemic has created for employers are significant. It is encouraging to see third-party decision-makers doing what is in the public interest and providing support to employers as they try to uphold COVID-19 safety protocols in their workplaces….
Read MoreBoard of Directors approves the 2020 amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation
At its April 2021 meeting, WorkSafeBC’s Board of Directors approved the 2020 amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. These amendments will come into effect on September 1, 2021. Strikethrough versions of the amendments with explanatory notes can be accessed below. Deletions in the regulatory amendments are identified with a strikethrough and additions are in bold text and highlighted…
Read MoreWorkSafeBC employer reimbursement applications for COVID-19 sick-leave available online June 15
Journal of Commerce | Peter Caulfield | June 10, 2021 In mid-May, the B.C. government announced workers affected by COVID-19 will be able to receive three days of paid leave if they have symptoms of the virus, are in isolation or are waiting for a test result. The program requires employers to pay full- and part-time…
Read MoreConsultation on proposed B.C. Exposure Limits (ELs) based on the new or revised 2016, 2017, and 2018 ACGIH TLVs for selected chemical substances
Each year, the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) publishes a list of substances for which they have set new or revised Threshold Limit Values (TLVs). A TLV is an airborne concentration of a chemical substance where it is believed that nearly all workers may be exposed over a working lifetime and experience no…
Read MoreConsultation on proposed amendments to Part 3 of the OH&S Regulation – Reassignment of Refused Work
WorkSafeBC’s Policy, Regulation and Research Division is requesting feedback on proposed amendments to Part 3, Rights and Responsibilities, new section 3.12.1 — Reassignment of refused work, of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. The consultation phase provides stakeholders an opportunity to provide feedback prior to the proposed amendments being taken to public hearing. All stakeholder…
Read MoreFirst-hand accounts help VICA research drug abuse
Journal of Commerce | Russell Hixson | June 4, 2021 Soothing painful injuries, dealing with trauma, partying that escalates. The Vancouver Island Construction Association (VICA) in B.C. released first-hand accounts from construction workers and employers about how workers got involved in drugs and why they struggled to seek help. Of the 22 interviewed for the project,…
Read MoreVRCA town hall meeting describes how Syncra Construction beat COVID-19
Journal of Commerce | Peter Caulfield | June 4, 2021 A recent online town hall meeting heard a cautionary tale of how work at a construction site in suburban Vancouver was suspended in late April 2021 by an outbreak of COVID-19. The story has a happy ending, however, because the site, operated by Syncra Construction Corp.,…
Read MoreBC Government’s Covid-19 Sick Leave Reimbursement Application
WorkSafeBC has been asked to play a key role in administering the B.C. government’s COVID-19 Sick-Leave Reimbursement Program. Eligible employers will need to be registered for workplace health and safety insurance through WorkSafeBC and also be signed up for online services in order to apply for the reimbursement starting June 15. WorkSafeBC is asking for your…
Read MoreBoard of Directors approves the 2020 amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation
At its April 2021 meeting, WorkSafeBC’s Board of Directors approved the 2020 amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. These amendments will come into effect on September 1, 2021. Strikethrough versions of the amendments with explanatory notes can be accessed below. Deletions in the regulatory amendments are identified with a strikethrough and additions are in bold text and highlighted…
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