‘Aug., 1965 THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER === UNDED" QUESTION DS} Ss “LIGHT DUTY” SORTIN’ THESE LIGHT CEDAR LOGS BUT HE STILL WON’T CO-OPERATE! BOOM... , {a erly treated and recorded by a doctor, that same workman has recourse to going back to |.doctor if his injury. flares p. When light duties are Piven an injured man, with a Restore approval, care should lways be taken that the man ill be able to do the job he is assigned properly. There are too many cases of so- talled “light duty jobs” in Which the workman simply ‘finds a place and hides out of the way of everything. There are too many cases where Supervisors are turning their eads when they see such an idle “walking injured,’ and comfort themselves in the | thought that their company will have a low frequency \and low medical aid ratio. Ay i, "LIGHT DUTIES \ t Placing a man on light \ luties where the man can Properly do a job is good busi- iness for the company and ‘good therapy for the work- ‘man. But placing a man on light duties, when the super- isor knows full well that the. ; cannot handle the job, r that the workman is wil- playing possum, is poor Usiness for management, The Workmen’s Compensa- Board was set up as | Management's Insurance for its Work Force.” Fear is expressed by supervis- ors that if a workman gets compensation,” it will be hard to get him off, or that me men get “on compensa- ” too easily. If this is the , then management would ter off to make sure ERS’ VIEW that its Compensation Board was “beefed up” with more claims inspectors to make sure that the “possum cases” were more rigidly handled. The accident rate and the medical aid sys- tem are not good criteria of how a camp is progressing in its safety record if one camp is using the “Walking Wound- ed System” in too great a de- gree. It places a false figure in the eyes of outsiders, and therefore means nothing as a comparison in a good Acci- dent Prevention Campaign. REPORT There is also very little op- portunity for small camps to use the “Walking Wounded System,” as these camps do not have the housing or facili- ties to keep a man on light duties. So in the small camp, a workman goes on the acci- dent frequency report, but in the large camp that uses the “Walking Wounded System,” he takes on light duties and does not show as a recorded accident. Really now — who is fooling who? We must have a set of standards in this industry if we expect to hold and pro- cure good men to handle the machines and get the logs. There is little use talking of Safe Production Programs and re-dedicating ourselves to safe working ways, unless we find a standard to gauge the effectiveness of our accident prevention programs. It is doubtful that the “Walking Wounded System,” as it is being used and sometimes abused, is helping to set up a good standard, We welcome your comments, frequency July 29, 1965 “Mr. Andrew D. Smith, Regional Safety Director, IWA, Western Canadian Regional Council No. 1, 2859 Commercial Dr., Vancouver 12, B.C. “Dear Andy: “I was surprised to see your open letter addressed to me in a recent issue of the Western Canadian Lumber Worker. When you invited me to speak at your Regional Safety Conference, I told you at that time that I would speak quite frankly on the so-’ called “Walking Wounded” policy. I particularly recall, Andy, that at no time during the hour I spent there did you ask a question, even though I invited questions and answered them honestly and frankly. Let me reply again to the questions you have put to me in this open letter. (1) Why do you and other company safety directors per- sist in pushing the policy of “Walking Wounded” when you know the IWA, which is a vital partner in the joint forest safety programme, is violently opposed to it? “Throughout my talk and during the long question and answer period, I kept explain- ing why safety men feel that no safety programme can be successful without a_ light- duty policy. 3 BREAK RECORD “There is an old expression, “Nothing succeeds like suc- cess.” All of us have been connected with operations that at ‘some time or other have gone long periods of compensable. accident free days. We have noted the in- terest that builds up in safety until we arrive at the point where each worker says to himself, “We are doing so —~ Up ——— Yj Yy Yy Yj: Y y “Li COMPANIES VIEW well here that I would hate to be the one to break this record.” Consequently, he avoids chance-taking and be- comes a safer worker. This is the aim and spirit that we are trying to cultivate. Compen- sation was intended to com-. pensate injured workers for loss of earnings through in- jury on the job. If a man can be gainfully employed in spite ’ of his handicap, he should certainly work; compensation was never meant as a reward for being injured. (2) Why do the companies allow injured workmen to draw full pay for lying in a company First Aid room or doing light work around the premises when they could be drawing compensation bene- fits at home? POLICY RIGHT “This question was also put to me at the meeting. My re- ply is still the same. The policy of light-duty work is right. The IWA should not fight the principle but should o not agree myse injured workers who cannot do a use- ful day’s work should be kept on the payroll. This amounts to the same thing as putting insurance on your automobile and then paying all the claims yourself. However, we should not deny a man the right to earn a living if he is capable of doing so. “(3) If the companies are carrying out this policy of “Walking Wounded” solely in the interest of the injured worker, why is it they shrug off all responsibility when, jf at a later date, the worker suffers a relapse and is denied compensation for his injury by the Workmen’s Compen- sation Board? “This is rather a sweeping question and consequently can only be answered in a rather general way. I do not believe that companies do shrug off their responsibilities to injured workmen. Remem- ber that more than two work- ers hurt off the job are re- habilitated, to every one hurt on the job. “(4) Doesn’t it seem logical that all compensable injuries should be dealt with by the Workmen’s Compensation Board, the agency set up for that specific purpose? ‘Frankly, Andy, this ques- tion baffles me. I have always been under the impression that the Workmen’s Compen- sation Board did deal with all compensable injuries. How- ever, if.a man is working, he hasn’t got a compensable in- jury. “Actually, Andy, there was only one statement made by you in your letter that really disturbed me and that is this one: “This strikes me as a rather. shoddy way to treat one’s partner in any venture, let alone something as im- portant as safety.” “I definitely feel- that suc- cess in safety requires the co- operation of all. It was for this reason that I accepted your invitation to speak to the IWA Regional Safety Conference. I thought that I had fully and completely answered the questions asked, including the first ree above. I am sorry you didn’t discuss them with me then in open forum. “Yours truly, “Ravonier Canada (B.C.) Limited, “tT. E. North, Safety Director.” “P.S.—In view of the wide circulation of the Lumber Worker and your open letter addressed to me, I have taken the liberty of sending copies of my reply to all local presi- dents.” WHAT KIND OF A BOOM MEN YA GIVIN’ ME?... TWO OF ’EM SPEND THEIR TIME SWIMMIN’ TO COOL JACKET OFF AN’ THIS JOKER WON’T WEAR A LIFE » » « CLAIMS IT DON’T LET HIM TAN?