subject: Alberta To Post Names Of Oh&s Violators Online [print this page] Alberta's provincial government has decided it's time to get tough in its approach to occupational health and safety.
In a decision intended to send a message to every company that fails to comply with health and safety rules, Employment Minister Thomas Lukaszuk has announced that "the hammer is coming down," so beginning this September, the safety records of Alberta's scofflaw companies will be posted online.
The announcement comes in the wake of increased criticism for what many consider to be its lax enforcement of occupational health requirements. Over the next several months, the province will make procedural changes designed to step up enforcement, and ensure that workplace safety directives are more effectively enforced.
The overall objective is to make sure all employers in Alberta understand the consequences of non-compliance with occupational health and safety rules. In addition to the online publication of the names of non-compliant companies, the province will also hire eight more workplace safety officers, and has started a pilot project to inspect workplaces at night and on weekends. It will now be tougher to ignore the rules.
Eight years ago, the government promised to publicize businesses' workplace safety records, but decided privacy rules prevented it from doing so. Lukaszuk, however, claims that he recently checked with experts and found that to be untrue.
In April, the Auditor General's office lambasted the government for allowing a relatively small group of employers to routinely violate occupational health and safety orders. Those companies were found to have had worker injury rates three to four times higher than the provincial average.
by: Stan Hudecki
welcome to Insurances.net (https://www.insurances.net)
