Page Six B.C. LUMBER WORKER SAFETY HEARING IWA BRIEF TAKES 10 DAYS, 14 WITNESSES Presentation of IWA views on accident prevention be- fore Chief Justice Sloan focussed public attention as never before on the importance of an industry-wide safety train- ing program with complete co-operation on the job as be- tween labor, management, and the Workmen’s Compensa- tion Board. Pow We Pay! Chief exponents of the IWA | case were William Gray, Secre- tary of the IWA District Safety Joe Morris, and John T. Atkin- | son, Safety Director, Local 1-80, IWA. Other witnesses included, Don McRae, and Frank Howard, | Local 1-71; H. J. Bruch, Local 1- 423, and representatives of First ; Aid Attendants. The IWA also called Brigadier Roaf, and Hugh Aird of the De- partment of Veterans Affairs to the stand in support of proposals for a rehabilitation centre, and the appointment of a Compensa- tion Advocate. Safety Director Tom North, Ganadian Forest “KEEP IN THE CLEAR” A bucker, 40 years of age, and with a number of years ex- Rerience in the woods, met instantaneous death in the accident described in the accompanying A hemlock snag, 20 inches dia- meter, 40 feet high, stood close to the cedar to be felled. The fallers tested the snag with their axes and found it. to be rotten. For this reason they de- cided the safe thing to do, was to knock it down with the cedar. Realizing that the cedar might kick back from the snag, espec- jally as it had a large cat face on that side, they decided, as a precaution, to finish-the back cut with a hand saw. He Was Warned" Taking the power saw out of the cut, they crossed the ravine and borrowed the bucker’s saw, at the same time warning him to keep in the clear. The cut was completed and the tree started down. The two fall- ers ran for cover behind standing trees, and were amazed to see the bucker standing behind the falling tree. ‘They shouted a warning, but it was too late. Death Instantaneous The snag hag a solid centre, and caused the cedar to kick back striking the bucker in the chest, and sending him hurtling 40 feet to the other side of the gulley. Longshoreman’s Suggestion The Editor: In regard to the accident dia- gram in your issue of Feb. 2, why have stump line in a direct line of the anchor tree and pull- ing on the sky-line? I suggest the sky-line should be made shorter, and the haul- back line lengthened to bring the pulling nearer the home tree. I take interest in reading your paper and as an outsider, trust you will pardon my suggestion. J. L. Keith, No. 2036, Local 502, 1.L.W.U. Some years ago, the Work- men’s Compensation Board ap- pointed a First Aid Supervisor whose special duty it is to su- pervise the enforcement of First Aid regulations, According to the annual re- port for 1948, of the Work- men’s Compensation Board, over 2,700 Industrial First Aid Attendants are employed in in- diagram. ee ee Fatality At Justkatla Local 1-71, IWA, reports with regret’ the accidental death of Brother Alfred Gag- non, who was struck by the rig- ging at Justkatla Camp, Kelley Logging, at noon, April 21, and suffered severe head injuries. The injured man was flown to the Prince Rupert Hospital the same afternoon, but died the following evening, April 22. Inquest will be held in Prince Rupert. 1-80 Boom-Man Drowned Brother Robert Graham, Lo- cal 1-80, IWA, met his death by drowning while working as a boom man at Western For- est Industries Ltd., Honeymoon Bay, on April 18. Suitable expressions of sym- pathy have been forwarded by Local 1-80 to the relatives of the deceased. Don’t Merely Learn Safety —Live It! Council; District Vice-President | John T. Atkinson | hearing when he blew composed 100 percent ployees”. The “impartial way foreman, peice assistant timekeeper, Chief Justice Sloan tion” and that if tru men had suggested, t should be composed APRIL 11 GINCE I was working the afternoon and find out what the IWA Safety Products Ltd. gave evidence on behalf of management. Officials | of Associated Air Taxi were ques- | tioned on the practicability of | helicopter service for injured log- gers. This is the time of year when! we scratch our heads ahd the bot- | tom of the budget barrel because | of income taxes. Ten Day Enquiry TWA evidence occupied the at- | tention of the Commission for ap- proximately ten days, and re- sulted in the examination of more | | There may not be as much screaming panic as in former days, but the income-tax-report . = |than 14 witnesses. time nudges our budgets with the!" “Major feature of the IWA ac- reminder of how much it costs | ¢;, 0 to live in the land of the free and | jens, Prevention eae was the home of the helpful. jproposal for a joint industry | One of our undisputed privi-|safety council, representative of leges is to expose ourselves to|the IWA, management and the the danger of death or injury by | Workmen’s Compensation Board, accident. The privilege is widely |us a co-ordinating body for the exercised. And how we pay for /extension of safety training. Hoa § < | [WA witnesses, This is something that may|cal accidents and experiences in make you feel not-so-bad about ‘developing a safety program in taxes by making you feel worse |camps and mills, made clear that j about the cost of accidents, the first responsibility for safety In the United States they paid procedures and training rested $7,400,000,000 for all types of ac- , with management and the Board. leidents in’ 1948. Proportionately, | They advocated wider powers for in Canada, it was as bad. That the enforcement of safety precau- figure was $30,000,000 more than tions upon indifferent companies. |the cost in 1947, and $1,000,000,- Union Responsibility |000 more than in 1946. | Another pocket-shocker. The Any safety program would fail, | average cost per disabling injury , they admitted, unless given full by citing typi- in 1946. ! 3 IWA through the columns of the that's worth while than you i ‘e working habits. Before you kiss your wife, bet- employers through Forest Indus- to surprise. * wife in the kitchen. She wasn’t | ‘Wiry. surprise, the butcher knife in her | the accident rate in the industr in 1948 was $710—which is $50, co-operation by the workers on | more than the average injury cost | the job. f In this respect they pointed to And remember: This payoff | the persistent efforts made by the for accidents gets us even less 5 8,C. Lumber Worker to main. may think some taxes get us. _| tuin interest in the cultivation of | Appreciation was expressed of SURPRISE the co-operation extended by the ter be sure you know your own trial Relations Ltd., to carry on romantic power and her reactions | this educational work. The Safety A man in Long Beach, Califor- | 'tequently referred to by a num- nia, grabbed a smacker from his |ber of witnesses during the en- expecting the sudden love-making | [WA witnesses spoke with con- and when she whirled around in| viction when they claimed that hand gave hubby a 1-inch gash in| could be substantially lowered b: the arm. - oy y \enuine co-operation, on the job. The close attention given the subject by the Commissioner, and legal counsel for the employers was a matter for gratification, | Stated IWA officials as they left ithe stand, They confidently expect that ;this public discussion of safety {measures will ‘provide an impor- tant stimulus to safety work in ithe province, and may result in ,important developments, “Course Not” Old Hendry loved to tend machines And keep them bright and shiny, He started in his early ’teens A willing lad, though tiny, Experience soon came his way And taught him to be cunning Now to himself you'll hear him .. Workmen’s Compensation Board reports time loss acci- dents reported in March at 717, with fatalities at 4, in the lum- dustry. ber industry. These figures say - “Don’t touch it while its t running!” SHORT CUTS ARE LONG CHANCES added to these already pub- lished raise the number of ac- — cidents reported since January | p roe to 1,652, and the deaths | . i jPages of this publication were | Pal Workmen’s Compensation at the Court I sure opened my eyes when I taking in the enquiry. It looked like hand to watch every move mad that just shows that the employ. Compensation runs into the millions, Rehabilita Bill Gray, Secretary of the IWA D case, and presented the brief. The brief of amendments to the Act, and told th the proposals of the other Unions in I thought he did a first-class job, better rehabilitation for crippled men. He made eyerybody sit up and are now left to drift, with very little that it was as important to give indu up the war casualties, It would pay the province, he said, such as they have for the ex-service to fit them for some other line of work. Employer One important idea he brought up, to help re-train crippled men and re-e could do in spite of their disabilities. Seems that they have such a system all concerned. APRIL 14 Compen: The IWA sprung a new idea on the ment of an official who would help men | That made a hit with me, when I Compensation regulations. The Unions | got the claims through when the eviden the government should give them all Accident ‘When the IWA got around to |John T. Atkinson, Safety Director, | President, were on their own ground They had evidence that impressed long practical experience. - APRIL 18 The IWA safety men were still on th will be there for quite a few days brief_and presentation was the best so Don McRae, Englewood, and Her made a good case for better first aid lations. Herb said that the Interior is to cover small‘ gyppo operations. Summing it all up, I would say velopment of a safety program. So tions they have good safety comm panies are backing the safety pro; different, It came out very clearly that the need of co-operation in safety meas Joint The IWA proposal was that a up, with representatives from the Uni training program into every section The whole point is that men who well trained in safety methods, and tl work automatically the safe way. When I heard, how in some pl on their toes about Safety, I was ¢ I think the enquiry has shown tl interested as we are in safer worl a ride on the question. Accidents reckless speed-up will soon be a thi When one of the company same way as the IWA safety men. working at it. APRIL 19 The IWA finished their nesses, all told. es Safety is now a subject that enquiry. i hear that they want The Commissioner spent questioning him about the pri The felieeoiaeaed a ie helicop' i in and out of the more distant