Alberta's efforts to prevent workplace injuries and deaths have been an abject failure, says the author of a new report from the Parkland Institute.

The report was released Wednesday, within hours of two workplace deaths in Alberta and one day before a national day of mourning for workers killed and injured on the job.

In his report, Jason Foster, was critical of the Alberta Government's attempts to reduce injuries and deaths.

"The track record is, they're not working," said Foster, author and assistant professor of human resources and labour relations at Athabasca University.

"We're not preventing injuries. There are hundreds of thousands of injuries in this province every year, and the numbers don't track downward. So something's not working in the system."

Foster said a big part of the problem is awareness. He and his colleague Bob Barneston looked at five years of newspaper coverage of workplace accidents and found some interesting trends.

Alberta saw 125 deaths last year

Fatalities make up one per cent of workplace accidents but are featured in almost 80 per cent of articles. According to the report, that gives the public the false impression that workplace accidents are deadly but relatively rare. There were 125 workplace deaths reported in Alberta last year.

Foster said the research also uncovered a gender bias in the reporting.

"We find that it's a very skewed picture that's provided," he said. "The experiences of women and female occupations is under-reported. There seems to be an over-reporting of the more dramatic and traumatic incidents, which makes sense from a media perspective. But our report tried to focus in on understanding what implications that would mean for the public, because the public therefore isn't getting a full and accurate picture of the nature of workplace injury in the province."

Foster said he thinks the public's perception of workplace injuries influences government policy..

"Part of the issue around public policy, and around the issue of trying to make workplaces safer, is having the public understand what is the nature of workplace injury," he said. "What we find in the newspaper articles is that there's kind of this distancing and diminishing of the issue. That it's a rare thing that happens to other people. We don't know why it happens, just a freak accident, it's kind of the tone of the reporting. And that's problematic when you think about workplace injuries and attempting to try and make workers and workplaces safer."

Foster doesn't blame the media, he said it's the government's responsibility.

Report author suggests public shaming

"The government and the Workers Compensation Board need to do more to make sure the public is fully informed about the nature of workplace injuries."

He said the province needs to increase public reporting, which could include shaming the worst performing employers.

"I guess it has a two-fold purpose," said Foster. "One is a little bit of a public shaming, because it really is something that should be shameful. Injuring your workers through inattention and carelessness on the part of the employer is something that should be shamed. But what else it also does is it arms workers. If we publish the list of the most dangerous employers in the province, workers then have more information at their disposal to decide if they want to work for that employer."

Foster said the public needs to be aware of the magnitude of workplace injuries. He noted that Alberta has among the highest incident rates in Canada, and one of the lowest prosecution rates.

"The government has an interest to downplay the depth and breadth of workplace injury. Employers have an interest as well, and I think the system has been constructed by the government and by employers to downplay the nature of workplace injuries."

Minister welcomes Parkland report

Alberta Labour Minister Christina Gray disagreed with Foster's assessment that the province's efforts have failed. She said she hasn't had a chance to read the new report in full but welcomes it.

"I would have not have used that language," Gray said. "I have found that the department works very hard on an occupational health and safety front, to try and protect Alberta's workers. We have dedicated staff in the department who are always looking to improve and enforce workplace health and safety, because I think everyone here cares deeply that all Alberta workers should be able to go to work, do their job and come home safely."

Gray said she will consider some of the report's recommendations.

"Our government welcomes input, especially on a matter like workplace health and safety. So I'll be looking at the report further and deciding what might make sense for implementation"

Gray said she has already launched an investigation into convenience store and gas station workplaces, with 200 inspections across Alberta. She said she plans to review the laws.

"Moving forward, I am looking at the legislation that governs occupational health and safety, as well as employment standards and the labour relations code for potential updating and modernization, in light that most of those pieces of legislation have not been reviewed in decades."

Gray said despite 125 workplace deaths in the province last year, fatality numbers are trending downward.



