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B.C. LUMBER WORKER

NO CASUALTIES AT |

FRASER MILLS BANQUET

By HENRY SWITZER Z Chairman, Sub-Local 1-357 i

Wild Duck Inn at Coquitlam was the setting when the man- agement of Canadian Western Lumber Co. held a banquet for the plant Safety Committee re- cently.

Those present were: M. J. Ryan, General Manager; William Fenton, Safety Director; Harold Schiefke, Assistant Director; M. Ewart, Production Superintend- ent; W. M. Allison, Safety Direc- tor of B.C. Lumber and Shingle Association; George Norris, Assistant Director; Reg. O’Brien and Ted Fraser, Plant First Aid Attendants; Harold Rodgers and Tom Drobot, Safety First Mill- wrights; Henry Switzer, Sub- Local Chairman; E. Roy Moore, Sub-Local Secretary; Reg Davis, Safety Committee Chairman; Tom Godfrey, Secretary; H. Phil- lips, L. Bouthout, F. Boileau, R. Granger, C. Spooner, B. Mapson, N. Kelly, A. Broconnier, G. Bergman, Committeemen.

Sustained Effort

Mr..Ryan, acting chairman, set the pattern for brevity when wel- coming the guests and the Com- ittee members. In complimenting and thanking the Committee for their efforts in the past year, he stressed the importance of sus- tained “Safety Consciousness.”

Reg Davis, able chairman of the Committee, in his remarks, expressed satisfaction in the year’s results and confidence that the plaque of meritorius Per- formance in Safety, would be once again won by Canadian Western Lumber.

Unique Committee

Henry Switzer, Sub-Local Chairman, on behalf of the Union membership, thanked the Com- mittee for their year’s work. He pointed out that the Committee’s

position is unique in that they have the 13 Union men on the Committee when the Master Agreement prescribes for an equal number from Union and} management.

He also charged the Committee or those desiring to contest the | forthcoming Safety Elections to broaden their perspective in the Safety Field, to join other Safety bodies and also to lend every assistance and co-operation pos- sible to the IWA Safety program.

Mr. “Scotty” Allison compli- mented both management and the Union Safety Committee on their “approach” to their Safety prob- lems. He asked complete plant co-operation ‘in making the “Safety Week”, the date to be May 14-18, a success. “Scotty” then proceeded to wrap it up with one of his famous “anecdotes”.

Mr. William (Bill) Fenton, | Personnel Director and Safety Director of the multi-unit plant at Fraser Mills, endorsed the efforts not only of the Safety Committee, but included the Safety Millwrights, Brothers Tom Drobot and Harold Rodgers, who cheeffully co-operate’ on every and all occasions.

At this point, Harold Schiefke presented suitably engraved Par- ker 51’s to each member of the Safety Committee.

The evening's , entertainment then divided up into two tables of “Bridge, at its Best”, a table of the Royal and ancient’“Ameri- can Pastime”, another corner housed a table of “Tournament Crib”, while yet another table held the “kibitzers”.

To a man, and to the end ever: one enjoyed themselve im: mensely.

4. CEDAR,28* BuTT FELLED Ina SNAG 18" GUTT

2. CHUNK (2'LONG ANO 8% (Nv DIAMETER, BREAKS OFF SNAG AND STRIKES MACHmE

"MAN WHO IS MOVING To CLEAR WITH GACK To FELLEO TREE. ‘

3. MACHINE MAN piNtleD UNOER CHUNK ABOUT EIGHT FEET FROM STUMP

“My Old Hard Hat Saved My Life”

Burton Bunker, power saw machine man at the Fraser Creek Camp of B.C. Forest Products Ltd., recently escaped death, by what seemed to his partners a

miracle, but, which he testified,

safety hat.

Bunker, with his partner, John Bodwill, head faller, and Ernest Cook, bucker, was working on slightly sloping ground, with a cover of medium cedar, numerous snags, and a fairly dense growth of salal brush.

In falling a 28” cedar it brush- ed an 18” snag. The top of the snag, approximately 8” x12’ broke off and flew back.

While attempting to get in the clear, Bunker was struck on the head and left shoulder by the flying chunk, Evidently his “hard hat” took the initial impact of the blow. The hat itself was undamaged, but the head harness was torn completely loose from

the shell. :

See

Another two or three months will be required to complete the enquiry of Chief Justice Sloan into the administration of the Workmen’s Compensa- tion Act, the Commissioner stated in reply to Attorney- General Wismer, according to documents tabled in the Legi: lature. No interim report was

possible, he stated.

The Commissioner’s answer to the enquiry was in part as fol- lows

“... may say in passing that to date I have taken evidence of 613 witnesses, which covers ap- proximately 13,000 pages of transcript ,and in addition there have been filed many hundreds of exhibits.

“I do not feel that I am in a position to make an interim re- port covering the three specific heads that you enumerate until the inquiry is completed and evi- dence heard from all parties on all sides of the questions in issue and argument heard. To make an interim report now would cer- tainly invite the inevitable and deserved criticism that I had not acted judicially in reaching con- clusions of fact before all parties were given an opportunity to be heard.

“I would also point out that opinion on these matters is far from being unanimous. For in- stance, the following employer organizations, among others, strongly object to any increase in the scale of compensation from the present 66% percent and also object to raising the present jmaximum of $2,500 on which | compensation is based, namely: | British Columbia Manufacturers? | Association, Canadian Manufac- | turers’ Association (British Co- |lumbia Division), Canadian Pulp and Paper Association (Western Branch), Canadian Restaurant Association (British Columbia Region), Consolidated Red Cedar Shingle’ Association of British Columbia, Interior Lumber Manufacturers’ Association, Min- ing Association of British Golum- bia, Northern Interior Lumber- man’s Association, and Salmon Canners' Operating Committee.

“T may add that this group of employer organizations does not object to a moderate increase in the allowance of dependent widows and children... .

“The Canadian Pacific Railway Company and the Canadian Na- tional Railway Company object to increasing the 66% percent allowance, and also object to any increases in dependent’s allow- ances, but would not oppose a moderate increase in the present ceiling of $2,500.

“The Canadian Collieries takes the position, supported by fac- tual material, that any increases in these allowances would mean a loss in their British Columbia coal mines operations, probably resulting in many men being de- prived of employment therein.

“{ merely. mention some of these things in order to bring to your attention the fact that these three matters you mention are not easy of determination. Strong submissions have been made from both sides and a considerable number of employer groups are yet to he heard... .

Minstrel Island, was because he Was wearing a

The victim of the accident was covered by debris, and when his partners went to his rescue, they fully expected that he had met his death.

News of the accident was flash- ed to the head office of the com- pany in Vancouver and a chartered plane was ordered out on a mercy flight.

Obstructions on the surface of the Fraser River delayed the take-off and before the plane left, a second message reported that Bunker was back at work, bruised and shaken, but alive.

Said Bunker to his companions, “That old hard hat sure saved my life.”

192 ‘Safe’ Days At BCEP

Employees of the Vancouver Division, B.C. Forest Products, Ltd. reported April 12 that they had completed 192 days of accident-free period, the cele- bration of which was reported. in the last issue of the B.C. LUMBER WORKER.

Both management and em- ployees are zealously pressing forward to establish a new record in the Jumber industry, with the goal of winning the National Safety Award.

‘The experience in this plant is cited as proof that with the will and the necessary all- round co-operation, sawmills can be made as safe as any

other industrial operation.

More Delay For Sloan Report -

Commissioner’s Statement

“There is no question whatever that pensioners or dependents who are attempting to live on awards made in the years gone by are indeed finding it most difficult and also complain of the necessity for them to pay hospi- talization insurance premiums. What can be done to aid these unfortunate people is, of course not within the scope of my in. quiry to suggest, and I do wish it understood, as I pointed out in 1942, that any increased pensions cannot benefit those present pen- sioners or dependent widows for whom awards were made from funds raised by assessment on industries, many: of which may no longer exist... .”

He Didn't Know How To Lift

Little accidents are warnings of worse ones in the making. Buying a pair of overalls the other day, we had to wait a few minutes for a previous customer to be served. We couldn’t help overhearing the conversation. The customer was_ insistent that he must have a watch pocket with a side opening in the chest of the overalls. It appeared that he had to do a Jot of lifting and had smashed two watches through their falling out when he bent over to lift.

Something sounded wrong about his reiterated demand and reasons for that type of pocket. Idly we wondered why he didn’t buy a wrist watch and save him- self this bother.

Then it clicked, we knew what was wrong. If he lifted correctly with bent knees and straight back, he wouldn’t be dropping watches out of chest’ pockets.

Deal With Causes

Later we thought how typical the situation is in accident pre- vention work, the tendency to bend effort to avoidance of re- sults when we should be paying more attention to elimination of causes.

Also typical is the neglect of clues or their misinterpretation.

Passing up study of little acci- dents because-they are small is like disregarding a case of ‘small- pox because the patient has only a few spots.

Perhaps it would be a good idea for many of us to carry watches in our upper pockets as a reminder when we are about to lift in a way that may put us in bed for, not hours, but days.

Contributed by M.C.

C FIRST

Protecting first aid mat from the weather is a prob that the loggers at North Bay have pretty well licked,

Some years; ago they inven a rubber “sock” for keeping the stretchers and blankets dry,

Another problem his how to keep dry the first material taken into the woods b the fallers. This material carried in a lunch kit, and aff a short time in the woods wo become wet and not fit for:

O70 LN OWE.