Ontario to Cut Workplace Injuries

TORONTO--The McGuinty government is hiring 200 new health and safety enforcement staff to achieve its goal of preventing 60,000 workplace injuries a year by 2008, Labour Minister Chris Bentley announced today.

“We are investing in a safer, more prosperous future for Ontario by significantly increasing staff to target workplaces with poor health and safety records,” said Bentley. “We plan to cut workplace injuries by 20 per cent in four years. This will result in less pain and suffering, a reduced burden on the health care system, savings to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) of an estimated $300 million, and a level playing field for safe companies.”

Based on the average cost of a workplace injury, eliminating 60,000 injuries annually will also translate into savings for businesses of up to $960 million per year.

The 200 new enforcement staff, to be paid for by the WSIB, will be hired during the next two years. Recruitment of 100 new inspectors is to begin immediately, marking a major expansion of the current force of 230 inspectors.

Inspectors will initially target 6,000 workplaces with the highest injury rates. Inspectors will visit these sites four times a year, focusing on workplace hazards to help firms reduce on-the-job injuries. Although these workplaces represent just two per cent of all firms insured by the WSIB, they account for 10 per cent of all lost-time injuries and 21 per cent of injury costs in Ontario.

Inspectors will use the full array of enforcement tools to safeguard Ontario workers.

“We are taking decisive action to make a real difference in the lives of Ontario workers,” said Bentley.