eek Teape ‘April, 1961 WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER } Ltd., i regulations. _ the Union to seek redress in the courts. { Two recent fatalities brought mat- ' ters to a head. In one instance, ' ehokerman Donald Earl Hicks was killed by a falling tree while work- ing on a skidd'ng crew. Mechanic Alex K. Pereverzoff was burned to death while welding a diesel oil tank- er. Local Union officials allege that a series of serious accidents provide an additional reason for stricter en- forcement of the Board's regulations. Evidence given at the Coroner’s ' inquests is under close scrutiny by IWA safety men. On the strength of this evidence further investigations _ will be held. It is reported that the *» company has already been penalized 4 by an increase in its compensation «assessment rate. Too Close to Fallers The Local Union takes a serious view of the fact that skidding crews are evidently required to work in close proximity to falling and buck- ing operations. On December 20, 1960, the Local Union officials protested instructions issued to a Heel Boom operator to enter an area where falling and buck- ing was being carried out. The Heel Boom was struck by a falling tree, and the operator narrowly missed death A few days later, the W.C.B. In- ) spector issued an order, “Skidding crews shall be kept at a safe dis- tance”. On February 23, 1961, choker- man Donald E, Hicks met his death under circumstances which indicated that the skidding crew was too close - to the fallers. The tree fell on the , * cat, for which Hicks was setting ‘ -_ chokers. re Killed at 70 Feet . The faller gave evidence that the tree fell at right angles to the direc- tion intended, because of dry rot. The ¥ tree was 100 feet in length, and the _ victim was stationed 70 feet away. * The faller claimed that he was un- > > > nal - - aware the cat was so close, although he gave all possible warning when the tree dropped the wrong way. Evidence was given by the Bull- bucker that the Superintendent had been warned on the day of the acci- dent that the skidding crews were too close to the fallers, He merely said that he would look into the mat- ter after he had attended to some trail-blazing. Both the Superintendent and the bullbucker agreed that the company had been warned because of previous infractions of the regulations. Safety meetings had not been held regularly, they admitted, but at one recent meeting they had agreed to keep skidding crews out of the falling area. Too Close Timing In his evidence, the Superintendent suggested that he was trying to avoid digging logs from under the snow. “We try to keep away from falling too much ahead, but it is a matter of co-relation”, he said No company official would accept responsibility for the instructions which sent Alex Pereverzoff to ‘an excruciatingly painful death. The de- ceased had been known to do weld- ing work in and around the shop for twelve years, but was without tank experience. The RCMP constable in- vestigating was given the estimate of eighty gallons of fuel in the tank at the time of the accident. It was ig- nited by the heat of the welding operation. No instructions had been issued, and no precautionary signs had been posted, it was stated in evidence. The Coroner expressed the opinion that no instructions had been issued for the job. The victim was allowed to place his own interpretation on an order to “fix the tanker so we can use it”. The foreman accepted no re- sponsibility for the usual safe pro- Passmore Lumber Co. Charged With Violating Safety Rules Highly indignant members of Local 1-405 IWA are pressing for action by the Workmen’s Compensation Board to correct unsafe conditions in the operations of the Passmore Lumber Co. which they charge indicate a flagrant disregard of safety Failure to remedy a dangerous situation may cause cedures prescribed in using flame in the vicinity of a partially filled fuel ank, Regulations Breached Workmen’s Compensation Board regulations were read into the evi- dence by Financial Secretary Elmer Atwood, Local 1-405 IWA. These require, “(Section 8) A supervisor shall be responsible for the activities under his control being carried out without undue risk to any person”, (Section 9) “Supervisors shall be re- sponsible for the proper instruction of workmen in their duties, and for the satisfactory carrying-out of their duties”, and (Section 828) “Work- men not directly connected with fall- ing and bucking shall not be permit- ted to work where they are in danger cf being injured by these operations”. All three regulations have been breached by the Passmore Lumber o. in the two fatalities here cited —it is claimed. Local Union officers also claim that the evidence now proves con- clusively that, the lives of crew mem- bers in the Passmore Co, operations are imperilled by lax and inefficient | supervision of safety precautions. hey have urged the Workmen’s Compensation Board to exercise the authority of the law to protect life and limb in order that recurrence of these tragedies may be avoided. Distressing Features A distressing feature of the tank explosion fatality was that adequate fire-fighting equipment was not at hand. The victim attempted to im- merse himself in a barrel of water. Others could only throw cinders over him, instead of the usual foamite. Crew members giving evidence were also disturbed because of the primitive and uncomfortable means by which the victims had to be trans- ported to the Nelson hospital. Only a combination crummy and_ panel truck was available. Pictures of this vehicle appeared in a recent issue of the Western Canadian Lumber Wor- ker showing its use for the transport of fuel oil. , Loggers Local Upholds | Genuine Safety Program vg SUBMITTED BY LOCAL 1-71 In our opinion, a Safety Programme in order to accomplish its The establishment of a low fre- quency record naturally follows the success of such a programme and is > the desirable end result of the pro- ’ _ gramme’s success. A low frequency ‘4 record established by any other method is not desirable and in fact defeats its own end by causing doubt in the minds of the employ ees of the Company’ $ sincerity. This in turn de- | prives the safety programme thus effected of the wholehearted co- _eperation of all involved, which is q SO necessary to the success of any safety effort. Programme Necessary We are all agreed that a good, Sound safety programme is not only \ advisable but in fact necessary in any _ industry but particularly in an in- dustry as full of hazards as logging and sawmill operations and we are justifiably proud of our record of &ecident suppression over the years use of the importance placed on _ safety by our members on the job "and our staff personnel on both the ~ Regional and Local levels. 4 t comes as somewhat of a shock Nags to learn that the safety pro- gramme in at least one operation of is ”. rs naihoree being denied Compensa- on in the event of future complica- arising from his accident. We that el type of cold blooded, su ust be exposed on the es of thie chibption in order that members may be i hageshite3 of ‘apparent policies of the Company mentioned aad the dangers involved they co-operate with the Company : a cy. Partial Record purpose must be designed primarily to reduce accidents by elim- inating their causes and also through the education of the em- ployees involved so that unsafe conditions, unsafe practices are-recognized as such and avoided. work hazards and cent accidents in Northern Pulp- wood’s Sandspit operation and the manner in which they were disposed of will serve to illustrate the appar- ent policies of this Company in main- taining a low frequency rate by keep- ing injured employ off tion and on the Company’s payroll even if the injured man is so severely injured that he is unable to get out of bed and perform. the lightest of duties, Ompensa2- i In this category we find a faller who injured his thigh and knee on or about the 8th of November, 1960. It is reported that this employee was not sent inimediately to hospital but was told by the first aid attendant that the doctor would be in camp in a day or two and would examine him then, In the meantime it was sug- gested that he do a little painting the next day for which he was promised the snag falling day rate. The faller did in fact try to do a little painting the day following his accident but was unable to continue this work due to the disability he suffered and he was forced to return to bed, Kept in Camp Even at this point, camp manage- ment, or the first aid attendant,. or both, did not think it advisable to allow the injured employee to go on Compensation but instead kept him in camp until the camp closed down on or about the 9th of December, 1960, when he was sent to Vancouver with the rest of the crew, A chokerman was injured approxi- mately the last week of November, 1960, and was kept in camp painting and doing other light duty until December 7th, 1960. This employee was unable to establish a Compensa- tion claim when he arrived in Van- couver although he still suffered dis- comfort and disability. ¢ at a partial record of re- . No Compensation A second loader was injured in the Jatter part of October, 1960, and he also was kept on so-called light duty until the camp shutdown in Decem- ber. He received no compensation. A faller was injured in the first week of November, 1960, and was re- portedly persuaded by the first aid attendant to remain in camp instead of going on Compensation. This em- ployee stayed in camp on so-called light duty until the first week of December, 1960, but was able to establish a Compensation claim upon arriving in Vancouver ‘Ruthless Policy And so it goes, a dismal record. of a ruthless policy pursued by Northern Pulpwood in order that they can show on paper a low frequency rate and consequently enjoy a low assess- ment rate. The seriousness of this practice is evident to anyone who considers the matter at all and in fact was con- sidered so serious by the crew of that operation that the following resolu- tion was submitted by them to the Local Convention. This article is a direct result of that resolution and the continuing by the company of the practice which the resolution condemns: SUBJECT: INJURED MEN GIVEN EASY JOBS. WHEREAS: It has become a Practice in many operations in the case of so-called minor injuries to assign workmen to so-called easy jobs on the Company payroll, rather than having workmen drawing Compensation pay allow- ance, AND WHEREAS: As this prac- tice is in many cases humil- iating and can also be dan- gerous to the injured, AND WHEREAS: This prac- tice evidently is instituted to enable the operations to show a very small time loss, eo thereby impressing a d safety record. THEREFORE BE ‘IT RE- SOLVED: That an investi- gation into this practice be launched, and full publicity whatever. means be found to stop this practice be utilized. A Chokerman Died.. Occupation: Chokerman A chokerman was choking logs to an arch. Fallers were working in the area. Age: 34 Experience: 2 years On the side hill above the road a tree, in falling, broke into pieces, one of whichstruckandkilled the chokerman. New Awards Set New all-Canadian, nation - wide safety awards are now being granted by the Canadian Industrial Safety Association. These awards are open to all Cana- dian factories, mills, utilities, refineries, lumber op- erations, and shipping firms, Over 70 factories and mines have companies, mines, now applied for either the one mil- lion man-hours or 365 consecutive days no-lost-time accident awards available. Regret has been expressed by IWA safety men that the published program of the Association makes no reference to trade union coopera- tion. PROTECT YOUR USE YOUR HARD HAT BRITISH COLUMBIA WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION BOARD