B.C. LUMBER WORKER

HREE
AWARDS

rd Certificates will be
‘A, for the safety per-
ee of their operations;
the Centennial Safety
e days than required
the Centennial Safety

(i of the letters written
Minister of Labour, to Local

iy

iat the members of your Union
juts Limited, Cowichan Division,
ave helped to earn the Centennial

,

i

pedays free from accident which
is a tribute to the conscientious
erformed their duties. I sin-
ill act as a stimulant to other
bia a safer and happier place

\man- days free from accident which
1 by the Northwest Bay Division of
athieved is more than 100 man-days
ethial Safety Award Committee and
vaur on the part of all concerned to
py place in which to work.”

{

riy

ier free from accident which
BC. Forest Products Limited,

Ca use Camp, Youbou, achieved

“! e done to make British Col-
rk. I hope the members of
% Woodworkers of America will
ch), exemplary safety records and ,
‘9 match their own records with.”

ACCIDENT FLAG is raised in the office of Local 1-424, 1.W.A., by from left, Local Safety Director, J. Holst; W.C.B. Inspector, D. McEachnic;

N.ILL.A. Safety Director, F. Wade; and W.C.B. Inspector, ay Dinsmore; to show that Safety Week ‘plan:

the Prince George area are well under way.

IWA programme
highly praised

An active, conscientious labour-management job-safety
committee can be the-most effective tool in combatting in-

dustrial accidents, say

Arthur Francis, Workmen's

Com-

pensation Board Accident Prevention Director and a member
of the Joint Forest Products Safety Committee. His remarks
were made at a meeting of the Joint Forest Products Safety
Committee in Vancouver. He said much of the success of this

year’s Forest Products Safety

Week which starts May 12th

will depend on the actions of the safety committees and the
support of the 60,000 workmen in the forest industry of B.C.

WCB accident prevention regu-
lations state that where there is a
firm that employs more than 20
workmen, a joint labour-manage-
safety committee must be formed
and regular meetings held to dis-
cuss and implement safe working
procedures. Reports of these mecet-
ings are sent to the WCB where
they are carefully checked.

Forest Products Industry

Mr. Francis singled out the em-
ployers in the forest products in-
dustry as being the-most safety-
conscious employer group in the
Province: “Their efforts have

helped immeasurably to reduce the
accident rate from 119 accidents
per million man-hours worked in
1947 to less than 50 in 1957.”

“Unfortunately,” he said, “there
are still some employers, particu-
larly the smaller logging and saw-
mill operators who have not lived
up to their responsibility. If they
did, I feel quite sure that the acci-
dent rate could be reduced to less
than 25.”

“Labour unions too, are recog-
nizing that their participation in
safety will have a marked effect
on accident rates. Many of them

have taken steps in this direction,”
he said.

IWA Safety Conscious

Mr. Francis cites the Interna-
tional Woodworkers of America
as being one of the most safety
conscious unions in the Province,
He said several years ago they
appointed a full-time safety direc-
tor.

“The I.W.A. Safety Director,
John T. Atkinson, has helped to
inculcate into the minds of the

I.W.A. membership the import-
ance of safety,” said Mr. Francis.

“A good record for Safety Week
and every week in the year can
be achieved by all parties co-oper-
ating with one another. When
lives are at stake that shouldn't
be difficult. Every worker in the
industry must be cautioned and
disciplined if necessary in order
to attain everyone's goal of an
accident-free week in the forest
products industry of B.C.” Mr.
Francis said.

TRYING IT ON FOR SIZE is “Century Sam”, Forest Products Safety Week

mascot. Both “Century Sam’
Prevention Dept. of the Workmen‘s

and Rita Elliot, employed in the Accident

Compensation Board in Vancouver,

hope that B.C.’s 60,000 forest products. workers will get behind the
Safety Week drive which starts May 12.

Watch out

for slips

and falls this year

Slips and falls are the most
prevalent cause of accidents to
B.C.’s 60,000 forest products
workers. During 1957, 4,500 of
these workmen were victims of
slips and falls, With Safety
Week starting May 12 safety
committees in the forest prod- .
ucts industry will be going all-
out to practice good housekeep-
ing on-the-job, with the hope of
eliminating these hazards.

Prevent Accidents

Joint Forest Products . Safety
Committee Chairman, Anthony F.
Douglas, said that other causes of

accidents should also be watched.
He said loggers must watch out
for axe and saw cuts, rolling or
moving logs, striking against ob-
jects, falling snags, limbs hurt and
chunks.

“Sawmill workers should be on
their guard to avoid being hurt
by flying timber, mobile machin-
ery and other potential hazards in
the industry.” Mr. Douglas said.

The annual Safety Week drive
is backed by government, manage-
ment and labour bodies and in
recent years has helped to lower
the accident rate in B.C.’s primary
industry by combined effort,