Canadian Safety Reporter

CANADIAN SAFETY REPORTER 7 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2014 dence is that dust conditions in the mill were relatively good — but imperfect — at the time of the incident. The evidence shows that Babine workers were killed and injured in the workplace in this in- cident." WorkSafeBC's report concluded the elements for a wood dust explosion were present. That includes the con- centration of dispersed wood dust in the air, friction with the motor-reducer V-belt guard as an ignition source and ineffective wood dust control measures. Conditions of the wood and the effect of weather also played a part in the explo- sion, as did inadequate supervision of clean-up and maintenance staff. System a 'jurisdiction wasteland': Labour At the very least, the employer should have faced consequences, said Jim Sin- clair, president of the British Columbia Federation of Labour. "The reason we want the law to ap- ply to employers on their worksites is because if there are no consequences, then there is no incentive to clean up your act," Sinclair said. As it currently stands, Sinclair called the system a "jurisdictional wasteland," adding that upping consequences for the negligent employers will help to dis- suade bad, unsafe behaviour. "The Crown has resisted taking charges against employers who are neg- ligent for years. This isn't the first time, it's only the latest time," he said. "We have way too many people die every year in this province. That's what this is about, people preventing people dy- ing on the job, and almost every one of them is needless, completely avoidable." Sinclair said the system needs to be legitimized and real consequences — whether that is fines or jail time — should they not uphold basic occupa- tional health and safety standards. "Health and safety is pretty simple, you know," Sinclair said. "You need reg- ulations to keep people safe, you need education so people know what the laws are — both employers and workers — you need enforcement, and you need consequences." B.C. Safety Authority investigation The B.C. Safety Authority also conduct- ed an investigation into the Burns Lake explosion. It determined the root cause of the Babine explosion was a failure to control the hazard created by combus- tible wood dust, and issued nine recom- mendations to sawmills, the Canadian Standards Association and the office of the fire commissioner. To employers, the safety authority recommended the identification of hazardous locations, de- velop wood dust management practices and incorporate a fire safety plan. A report into another fatal explosion at the Lakeland Mills sawmill in Prince George, B.C., which killed two workers and left other seriously injured, is ex- pected later this month. "The Crown has resisted charges against employers who are negligent… this isn't the fi rst time, it's only the latest time." AB provided a written account of the speakerphone and hat incidents and the HSR conducted an audit of the supervi- sor's email contacts with AB. The super- visor admitted to the "skank" comment, sending offensive emails and calling her "Lucy." He denied making the comment and gestures related to her hat. The HSR didn't interview any wit- nesses because the supervisor admitted to violating the harassment policy. It was decided to discipline the supervisor with harassment training and a disciplinary letter admonishing him to maintain "a respectful and supportive workplace," though AB denied being told the super- visor would be disciplined. In January 2011, AB contacted HR to enquire about the results of the inves- tigation, as she was concerned about her own protection in the workplace. She was told the matter was considered resolved, but wasn't given details about the discipline. Since the supervisor was still in her department and bragged that he hadn't taken the human rights course, AB felt no discipline had been given to him. This belief was solidified when the supervisor leaned over her shoulder a few days later and put his hand on her back. AB immediately told the transit manager, who spoke to the supervisor. Shortly thereafter, AB filed a griev- ance complaining of harassment and the HSR's failure to provide a harass- ment-free workplace. Later, she also filed a complaint with the Ontario Hu- man Rights Commission. The supervisor continued to work in her department, so she switched shifts to avoid him, though their shifts still overlapped for an hour. The stress of the situation affected her health and home life, and she missed some shifts that led to her placement on an attendance management program. After some negotiations, AB and the HSR agreed to include the human rights complaint in the grievance pro- cedure. In January 2012, AB produced 38 pornographic emails she claimed the supervisor had sent, which the supervi- sor denied sending. A forensic audit was completed in May 2012, in which the au- ditor concluded the emails were fabri- cated or altered. The union hired its own computer forensics expert, who then de- termined the emails were authentic. The city took the second audit as de- finitive and terminated the supervisor's employment for lying about the emails, providing him with 18 months' salary. Labour calls for 'enforcement, consequences' Supervisor bragged he hadn't taken course Continued from page 1 Continued from page 6 Continued on page 8

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