A few weeks back, the Alberta government announced the
winners of its annual Work Safe student video contest. According to MLA Matt Jeneroux:
The Work Safe Alberta student video contest is a great way for young Albertans to think about workplace health and safety. Young workers can have an invincible mentality while on the job, and it’s important to understand both the real dangers and the resources available to them.
To be fair to the students, the quality of the videos is pretty high.
The recurring difficulty with these videos is that each new batch tends to
blame the worker for his or her injuries. This may well reflect the
instructions the students were given and/or the selection criteria used by the
government.
While it is true that workers need to be mindful of potential dangers,
the videos largely ignore the obligation of employers to identify and control
hazards (although the second place video does contain a nod in this direction).
The videos also tend to show worker injuries as the result of workers making
stupid choices.
I appreciate that these videos aren’t the final word on
workplace safety. Yet their tendency to blame the victim largely accords with
the government’s own safety promotions efforts.
Is rewarding students for internalizing blame for workplace
injuries really in the public interest? Or is it just in the interests of a
government that does a poor job of injury prevention and the interests of
employers who organize work unsafely?
Asking students to grapple with those kinds of questions
would make a much more valuable contribution to young people’s understanding of
workplace safety in Alberta.
-- Bob Barnetson
Good Morning Bob,
ReplyDeleteAs a Safety Practitioner I am the first to advocate that when accidents occur inevitably investigation will show a break down in the employers safety system. I viewed each of the video's and I do not agree with your view that they all blame the worker. The best video was number 2 and it clearly outlined the workers right to ask questions, ask for more training and that the employer is responsible to enforce safety. The message was not stated as strongly perhaps but it was there clearly all the same. The third one I have to agree - it was completely blame the worker.
I work a great deal with young people on the job and they require special mentoring and a stringent training program. This is the message the Government needs to enforce. These kids are 10 feet tall and feel bulletproof and will do many unexpected things - support the right training and programs and put some onus on the Employers to protect their "cheap" summer labor!
R.