Saskatchewan Strategy Seeks to Increase Safety

WorkSafe Saskatchewan, a partnership between the Saskatchewan Workers' Compensation Board and the Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety, has launched a new five-year strategy to reduce injuries and fatalities in the province's workplaces. The strategy aims to improve the health and safety culture of employers and workers, as well as to enhance the regulatory and enforcement framework.

One of the key aspects of the strategy is to increase mental health and psychological safety on the job sites. This includes preventing psychological injury, such as harassment, bullying, violence and stress. The strategy also recognizes that mental health issues can affect workers' physical safety and well-being.

According to WorkSafe Saskatchewan, about 2,400 workers are seriously injured each year in Saskatchewan. The three main priority sectors for the strategy are health care, transportation and construction. These sectors were chosen because they have high rates of injury and fatality, as well as high potential for improvement.

The strategy outlines several actions that will be taken to address these sectors' specific challenges. For example, in health care, there will be increased inspections in long-term care facilities and home care services. In transportation, there will be more education and awareness campaigns on driver fatigue and distraction. In construction, there will be more focus on fall prevention and asbestos exposure.

The strategy also emphasizes the importance of collaboration with stakeholders, such as employers' associations, unions, industry groups and educational institutions. WorkSafe Saskatchewan will engage with these partners to develop best practices, standards and training programs that support workplace safety.

Some advocates have welcomed the new strategy but also called for more enforcement measures to ensure compliance with occupational health and safety regulations. They have suggested increasing prosecutions and fines for non-compliant employers who put workers at risk.

The new strategy is based on the previous three-year Fatalities and Serious Injuries Strategy that was launched in 2019. WorkSafe Saskatchewan reports that since then, there has been a 10 per cent reduction in time loss injuries across all industries.

The new strategy's vision is to achieve Mission Zero - zero workplace injuries, zero fatalities and zero suffering - by 2028.