Workplace inspectors issue more orders to improve safety

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This article was published 14/12/2017 (2323 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The province has served workplaces with 58 per cent more orders to improve safety and health since a change in enforcement policy directed inspectors to focus more narrowly on hazardous workplaces and employers with a history of non-compliance.

Inspections are down this year, but they’re having more effect, says the department of growth, enterprise, and trade.

“In 2016-17, Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) implemented targeted enforcement strategies and increased its presence in rural areas of the province,” a government official said.

“Targeted enforcement focuses on high-risk hazards and sectors, as well as workplaces with repeated non-compliance. As a result, the percentage of inspections that have resulted in improvement orders has increased from 33 per cent to 52 per cent, indicating that the current strategy is better identifying workplaces with compliance issues,” he said.

Up to November of 2016, WSH averaged more than 500 inspections a month, including 615 in May of 2016 when Premier Brian Pallister’s government was just settling into office.

That fell to 241 inspections in December of 2016, and in the first 11 months of this year, inspections have ranged from 303 to 418.

NDP leader Wab Kinew obtained the inspection statistics through a freedom of information request.

“We don’t know whether it’s a staff reduction or a reduction to do less interviews,” Kinew said in an interview. He released the information before talking to the government or to the Manitoba Government and General Employees Union, which represents the inspectors.

“It’s an issue the province isn’t taking seriously. It seems there’s a lack of concern for the safety of Manitoba workers,” Kinew said.

The province said that “WSH is currently on target to complete 4,500 inspections in 2017-18. Inspections are expected to stabilize at approximately 5,000 per year going forward.

“There have been no layoffs,” said the department of growth, enterprise and trade, which said seven more inspectors will be hired in January.

There may have been no layoffs, the MGEU said Friday, but eight fewer inspectors are working than were in the branch two years ago. It could not be confirmed Friday if jobs have been left open when inspectors retire or leave.

“There has been a decrease in the number of safety inspections being done in Manitoba workplaces because the province has reduced the number of workers doing them. Two years ago, according to FIPPA documents, there were eight more people doing safety inspections than there are today,” said MGEU health and safety officer Blaine Duncan.

“Families deserve to know that their loved ones are going into safe workplaces. Regular inspections are a critical part of keeping employees safe and making sure everyone makes it home to their families at the end of the day,” Duncan said.

Kinew noted that last week the Tories introduced a bill that reduces or eliminates 25 agencies, boards, and commissions, including cutting the advisory committee on workplace safety, which had labour among its membership.

“You need enforcement and inspections,” Kinew said. “This is something we’re passionate about…lives have been lost.”

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca