B.C. LUMBER WORKER

‘DELEGATES TO IWA DISTRICT SAFETY COUNCIL plan a year’s program in a determined effort to lower accident rate in British Columbia’s lumber industry.

NO WORK ON. UNSAFE JOBS; CONTRACT CHANGE URGED

Proposal to include in the master agreement a clause

removing any compulsion to

work under unsafe conditions

was one of many important recommendations which the IWA District Safety Conference, January 28, prepared for submission to the District Convention in order to wage an all-out campaign against needless accidents.

The conference, comprised of approximately 50 IWA men recruited from all 12 Local Unions, spent a profitable day in reviewing the experiences of 1951 and strengthening safety cam- paign plans for another year’s effort.

A series of 12 resolutions and many specific recommendations on-administration were later placed before the main convention and gained approval.

General agreement prevailed that the Local Unions should lend full co-operation to the plans centering around the work of the full-time Safety Director, John T. Atkinson.

Praise for B. C.

The safety delegates heard the International Officers and frater- nal visitors from other districts praise the work of the B.C. Dis- trict as leading the International in the field of safety.

It was also plainly stated in the officers’ report and remarks of the safety directors that al- though the frequency rate had been lowered in the industry dur- ing 1951, the accident statistics left no cause for complacency.

The District Convention, on ad- vice from the Safety Council offi- cers, upheld the policy, hitherto pursued, of placing the primary

responsibility for safe conditions and procedures upon manage ment. The Union, on the other hand, indicated a willingness to accept its proper share of re- sponsibility for developing co-

safety | operation in the observance of |

safety precautions. The Union’s survey of fatal

|revealed an important field for | safety education to be conducted |under the auspices of the Union.

Provincial Safety Conference

The District Convention en- dorsed the recommendation of the Safety Conference urging a prov- ince-wide safety conference under

Government. It was proposed that the Government should re-open the Safety Department, and broaden its work, to place safety on the agendas of all industrial and service organizations.

Safety men on all sides united to repeat the warning that lack of instruction in the English lan- guage for new Canadians cons tuted a grave hazard to them- selves and their fellow-workers. The’ demand of the convention was. that all ‘such men should first be given training in elemen- tary English"before being placed on jobs in the lumber industry.

Safety Inspectors

The need for safety instruction and closer supervision in many’ operations led the Union to rec- ommend that in all operations employing 300 or more employees a full-time safety inspector should be placed on the company pay-roll, upon election by the| Union members.

oti ner

| and serious accidents and causes, |

the sponsorship of the Provincial |

Provision of safety hats at company expense was also urged as a necessary incentive to gen-

|eral use by workmen, and be- jcause of lack of uniformity eee the industry in meth-

ods of supplying same.

Other safety suggestions ap- | proved were:

| That the practice of “riding the |foot trip” be outlawed by the regulations in shingle mills.

| That facilities be improved for

|the transportation of injured |

| workmen to and from hospital and medical treatment.

That qualified First Aid attend- ants be enabled to administer shock treatment at the time of accident such as oxygen and nar- | coties.

That steps be taken to encour- age the use of safety lenses and frames by those with defective vision.

That safety training programs not be conducted during the lunch-hour period.

Stadnyk Vice-director

In order to strengthen the work of the District Safety Council, approval was given the appoint- ment of 4th and 5th Vice-direc- | tors.

|ecteoliStxdny ion SetehymDicecton Local 1-857, IWA, was appointed to the position of 3rd Vice-direc- tor to fill the vacancy which had occurred.

Safety Executives

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS of District Safety Council, and District President submit recommendations

“Gus” Shuzanski, Fred Fieber, Leo Stadnyk.

to conference, January 28th. (Left) William Gray, John T. Atkinson, J. Stewart Alsbury, Michael A.

“TEAMWORK!” SAYS FRANCIS

Although the primary legal and moral responsibility rests upon the employer to prevent accidents, a measure of moral responsibility should be assum- ed by the workers in dealing with the human factors, stated Arthur Francis, Chief Safety Inspector, Workmen’s Compen- sation Board, guest speaker, before the IWA District Safety Conference, January 28.

The Chief Inspector, who was warmly welcomed at the confer- ence, congratulated the IWA safety men on their close atten- tion to the problem. He spoke in terms of appreciation of the ap- pointment of John T, Atkinson, as District Safety Director. This appointment, he said, should aid the Union to maintain a sound perspective of the problem .and stimulate the interest of indi- vidual workers.

ARTHUR FRANCIS

Mr. Francis traced the advan- tages of the present Compensa- tion laws as compared to condi- tions which prevailed when no liability was accepted’ for acci- dents. He then developed the theme that the prevention of ac- cidents was vastly more import-

ant than the payment of compen- jsation after accidents had oc- | curred.

| Controls Justified

“Everyone loses when there is ‘an accident—employers, workers, |and society,” he declared, “Acci- |dents pollute the life-stream of |society. The State is therefore | justified in stepping in and exer- cising controls over industry cal- | culated to minimize accidents and | repair the consequences.”

The speaker absolved the IWA ‘from legal responsibility with |regard to control of accident ha- |zards, but went on to say that organized labor had the greatest possible moral incentive to tackle prevention problems.

Everybody Responsible

In his opinion, it was possible through the right techniques to develop in the minds of all the workers an automatic sense of good judgment, replacing skill for recklessness. Safety was the responsibility of every worker and supervisor in the operations and could be made fully effective only through cooperation.

He expressed the hope that the safety program would engender a true feeling of preparedness in the campaign to eradicate need-, less accidents. He pledged the support of his staff to any such effort.

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It is generally agreed that dustrial operation helps to rec housekeeping means an orderh well arranged job procedure: brightness. <

The term “good housekeepi personal relationships in a pla: portant for safety, for efficien orderly adjustment of all the dividual with others.

Good mental housekeeping tions. Mental housekeeping th tegrity, reliability, a clear fra heart. ]

Are you really as gop think you are? H Are you as critical @ x! other fellow? i

Do you allow competit relations with your fé Do you emphasize hi rather than give eredi ledge and skill?

If you do these thin teamwork of your ere

Personal relations are not tract. They are a result of wi

They can have a tremendo. severity of accidents.

Workmen’s Com Vanco

ADAM BELL, Chairman ‘ F. P, ARCHIBALD, Secretary |

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