The Provincial Council of Car- penters will be alerting i its members throughout the province ‘“‘to look into safety procedures right on their job sites” and is planning a Series of on-site membership safety Meetings in the wake of the inquest into the death of four carpenters and the inquest jury’s recommend- __ ations for sweeping changes to in- dustry safety procedures. The four Carpenters Union . Members — Brian Stevenson, Gunther Couvreux, Donald Davis and Yrjo Mitrunen — were killed Jan. 7 on the site of the new Bentall II office tower in downtown Van- couver. They were working on a Concrete ‘‘fly form’? — a huge table-like structure which is used to pour concrete floors and is ‘flown”’ by crane from storey to Storey in office tower construction — when it toppled suddenly and crashed to the ground 36 storeys below. The inquest into their deaths - concluded March 4. _ Evidence presented during the eight days of deliberations revealed that the engineering drawings out- lining the erection of the form were unclear and inadequate and that the construction company using the form did not seek clarification from the designer before omitting two critical steel support posts, thus making the whole aparatus un- Stable under the weight of the four ‘Men, The form was designed and. manufactured by Anthes Equip- ment Ltd. for the Bentall tower In loving. memory of our dear brother Boris Sholomenko who passed away February 27, 1981 Edith and Tom Moore and daughter Former B.C. and Yukon Building Trades Council president Roy Gautier addresses the memorial meeting of construction workers held Jan. contractor, Dominion Construc- tion. Provincial Council president Bill Zander said this week that the “credibility gap’? between the manufacturer and the construction company ‘“‘makes it pretty obvious that we’ve get to be a lot more vigi- lant ourselves about safety. ‘‘We’re asking our local unions and our local members to look around their job sites — to look closely into safety and equipment,’’ he told the Tribune Tuesday. ‘Carpenters Local 452 business agent Alex Baird added that as a re- sult of the inquest findings, “‘we don’t know what’s properly de- signed for safety and what isn’t. ‘All the equipment on thesites is engineer-designed — and we just put ourselves and our safety in the hands of the engineers,” he said. “But now it’s clear that we can’t count on that.”’ Carpenters locals were expected to begin. organizing the on-site meetings this week. Already, following the inquest recommendations, construction workers have shut down several sites to demand that unsafe condi- tions be cleaned up. The Carpenters had earlier call- ed, ina letter to labor minister Jack Heinrich Jan. 19, for a full investi- gation into construction industry ' safety practises and last week it was that point which highlighted a comprehensive list of recommend- ations outlined by the inquest jury. The jury — two carpenters, a construction laborer and two en- gineers — deliberated for several GLOBE TOURS The complete travel service 14 opposite the Bentall tower site. hours after the close of the eight- day inquest and when they had fin- ished they pointed to the need for both the industry and the WCB to make construction sites a safer place to work. Although the jury was con- strained from assigning blame, it did point to “gross underdesign- ing’’ by the fly form manufacturer and added that Dominion Con- struction might have averted the tragedy if WCB regulations gov- erning safety and work procedures had been followed. It also specifically ruled out any possibility that the workers them- selves might have been negligent. The jury prefaced its recom- mendations with a call for the labor minister to set up an inquiry im- mediately to ‘‘investigate safety practises in the B.C. construction industry.” The inquiry should be under- taken, it said, ‘‘in order to ensure that the (jury’s) recommendations are given full consideration. In ad- dition, it should consist of repre- sentatives of the industry, the Building Trades unions and the As- sociation of Professional Engin- eers and should issue a written re- port and the method by which compliance with the recommeda- tions is ensured. The five-man jury also called for: @ The Workers Compensa- tion Board to make construction site inspections under all conditions of construction including at times of inclement weather, during after- noon and night shifts and on re- mote sites. e An increase in staff for the WCB to ensure compliance with egulations @ WCB accident prevention officers and engineers to be trained specifically for the construction in- dustry. Worker representation on the Canadian Standards Association committees (the CSA is an inde- pendent agency which certifies pro- ducts in industrial, scientific and even household use). @ All building trades workers involved in formwork to be in- formed in writing of all job proced- ures for the erection, placement, use and re-use of the system. @ Fly forms to be designed by a B.C.-registered professional en- gineer who must file a letter with the WCB assuming responsibility for the design and must authorize any design changes in writing. The jury also recommended that the de- signer inspect the form during erec- tion, at various stages during its use and after any design changes. It urged the WCB to ensure that all such inspections are carried out. , @ Clear, detailed drawings for the construction of fly forms in- cluding step-by-step procedures for erection to ensure stability. @ The investigation of all in- dustrial fatalities to be under the jurisdiction of the Coroner’s Ser- vice with all government agencies reporting to the Service. The Carpenters Union is also planning to erect a monument possibly in the small park close to the Bentall tower site, which would be a memorial to the four carpent- ers and would also pay tribute to other construction workers who have been killed. “‘There have been a lot of work- ers who have been killed building those office towers over the years,”’ Zander said NOW see the exclusive “OLYMPIC 80” PHOTO— BILL DARNELL CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING COMING EVENTS MARCH 15 — Bethune Marxist Lecture Series presents Ryerson professor Louis Feldhammer on Racism: A Clear and Present Dan- ger, 8 p.m. Ironworkers Hall, 2415 Columbia (8th and Columbia), Van. MARCH 19 — Canada Cuba Friendship Association annual gen- eral meeting. Fishermen’s Hall, 138 E. Cordova St., Van. (boardroom) 8 p.m. MARCH 28 — Mac-Pap Banquet & Dance. See display ad for details. APRIL 4 — SOLIDARITY CAFE — “Solidarity with the working class press.’ 8 p.m. bsmt. Ukrain- ian Hall, 805 £. Pender St., Van. Folk music, refreshments. COMMERCIAL Jewellery & Watch Repairs Reasonable charge 254-7678 CONDOR’S PAINTING & build- ing maintenance. Free estimate. Phone 433-1145. A progressive firm owned and operated by Chilean Canadians. Reasonable rates. ELECTRICAL, plumbing, appli- ance repairs. Don Berg. 255-7287. ROOF REPAIRS — Reasonable. New roofs and alum. gutters, 277-1364 or 277-3352. GRAMMA PUBLICATIONS. Complete printing services. - Brochures, menus, leaflets, etc. Special rates for the progressive movement. A union shop. 1595 W. 3rd Ave., Van. 733-6822. FREE TAX -SERVICE, phone 682-0931. DERA, 4-193 E. Hastings St., Vancouver. ELITE HOME CLEANING. Rea- sonable rates. Weekly, bi-weekly or occasional. Licensed, bonded & in- sured. Phone 438-4043. C-90 music quality cassettes, $1.50 ea., proceeds to upcoming Tribune Fund Drive. 985-8546. LEGAL SERVICES CONNIE FOGAL, lawyer, #8 — Gaoler’s Mews, Vancouver (Gas- town), B.C. 687-0588. ' HALLS FOR RENT RUSSIAN PEOPLE’S HOME — Available for rentals. For reserva- tions phone 254-3430. WEBSTERS CORNERS HALL — Available for banquets, meetings, etc. For rates: Ozzie, 325-4171 or 685-5836. UKRAINIAN CANADIAN CUL- TURAL CENTRE — 805 East Pender St., Vancouver. Available FESTIVAL We will professionally Icok after all for banquets, weddings, meetings. your travel needs. We specialize in : : Ph. 254-3436. \ tickets, tours, passports, permits Opening & Closing r | - and reservations. Call us today — - Ceremonies for prompt personalized service. phillip david __ 2 showings only: rankin stone | Sunday, March 15 at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. pall Vancouver ae barristers & solicitors 500 ford bldg. 7 193 east hastings st. vancouver, b.c. | v6a 1n7 682-7471 Advance tickets available from: @ Co-op Book Store, corner of Pender & Homer, Vancouver @ Vancouver Ticket Centre “2 PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MARCH 13, 1981—Page 11 2679 East Hastings St. Vancouver, B.C. V5K 1Z5 Phone 253-1221 ;