| KDSS students awarded for prize-winning speeches |
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 Anna Morrison (L), Mike Dunn (R) and Hazel Pratt-Paige of the Grey-Bruce Labour Council, present prizes to Jason McDonell, Kristy Parsons and Serena Thompson for their award-winning speeches | ||||
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Representatives of the Grey-Bruce Labour Council were at Kincardine District Secondary School Monday morning presenting prizes of $500 each to the students whose speeches were chosen as the winners in the Day of Mourning award competition. The competition is designed to allow secondary school students from the entire Grey-Bruce region the opportunity to submit potential speeches on health and safety and present their speeches at Day of Mourning ceremonies in the area. Kristy Parsons presented her speech at Owen Sound City Hall, while Jason McDonell gave his speech at Bruce Power, and Serene Thompson presented her speech at Hanover Heritage Square. The award is a partnership among the labour council, Bruce Power and Hobart Industries, and the labour council partners share the cost of the awards. Presenting the awards were Anna Morrison and Hazel Pratt-Paige who sit on the labour council's education committee, and treasurer Mike Dunn. Joining Morrison and Pratt-Paige on the education committee are Rita Rudo and Gord Cale. The Grey-Bruce Labour Council is aligned with labour's view that improving the health and safety of workers in workplaces is one, if not the most important, activity that all those who enter any workplace can undertake. As the speech writers have helped everyone to remember the 300-plus workers who die each year in Ontario workplaces, the major message is that all workers are entitled to a safe workplace. "It's your life, don't leave work without it." The following are the three winning speeches:Workplace Safety and Young Workers By Kristy Parsons On David Ellis' second day of his job at a bakery in Oakville, Ontario, he was cleaning the dough from an industrial mixer when it accidentally became activated. David Ellis died at the age of 18. John Higgins was 16 when he started working at a recycling plant in Vancouver. His boss asked him to paint some objects yellow for safety reasons. John used a forklift to paint the lower part of a weigh scale. When he got out of the forklift to paint, he realized it was blocking the aisle, so he stood beside the forklift and put it into reverse not knowing that this was forbidden because he'd never been trained to use this device. He also didn't see the puddle of hydraulic fluid. When he slipped, he fell directly into the path of the forklift which drove over his back and crushed him. He woke up in hospital three days later with one less kidney and paralyzed legs. More than 20 years ago, the Canadian Labour Congress declared April 28 a National Day of Mourning to remember those killed or injured on the job. Since then, the event is observed in more than 100 countries. On Christmas Eve of 2009, four workers were killed and one seriously injured when a construction swing stage snapped in half and fell 13 stories to the ground. Four hundred more Ontario workers were killed last year from preventable workplace accidents. These are just a few of the many tragic stories of workers injured or killed on the job in accidents that could easily have been prevented. Not every injury is as serious as the ones I have mentioned, but cuts, burns, strains and falls are also examples of workplace accidents. Young workers are more likely to be hurt or killed on the job because they are hesitant about asking questions and don't want to seem stupid; they are embarrassed to admit that they don't know everything. Sometimes employers assume that young workers know how to safely perform their job and don't realize how inexperienced and naive these workers are. Unfortunately, many young lives are put at risk due to lack of communication. Every year in Ontario, about 10,000 young workers are injured or killed on the job. For me, that's 10,000 too many. This fact is horrifying to me because I am a young worker, and knowing this could happen to me or someone I know, makes me wonder if something can be done to stop these injuries from occurring. I think anyone could think of ways to prevent job injuries. Employers should warn their young workers about the hazards of the job, provide safety equipment and teach them how and when to use it. Supervisors should observe to make sure that the new employees are following their instructions and working safely. Simple things such as safety glasses, hard hats, gloves and proper work boots can go a long way to ensuring safety. If there is a hazard, the employer should get it fixed as soon as possible because a scrape caused by a malfunctioning machine today may result in a far more serious injury tomorrow if the corrections aren't made immediately. New employees should feel comfortable asking questions until they clearly understand the safety procedures and know that they have the right to refuse unsafe work. New employees also have the responsibility to be aware of their surroundings at their new job, and to know that there is no such thing as a dumb question when it comes to safety. Youth workplace injuries and deaths are not only devastating to the individuals and their families, but also to the company. A company's reputation could be badly damaged or it could be sued for a worker's job injury. It is also costly to hire and train a new employee or to pay overtime for the people filling in for the injured workers. I think April 28 is a very important day. It's a day to celebrate the lives and mourn the deaths of the people who have been killed, injured or suffer disease as a result of work. Nearly 1,100 workers were killed on the job in 2009 in Canada alone. This day is not just a day for mourning, but also a day to encourage efforts directed at securing safer and healthier workplaces. The government provides a framework for laws and legislation for workplace safety, but in the end, none of those laws will help prevent injuries unless every employer and every employee recognizes and respects these laws.  |
Day of Mourning By Jason McDonell Hello, my name is Jason McDonell. I would like to start off by thanking my English teacher for giving me this chance to have my voice heard. From my research, I came across some rather sorrowful facts, such as in 2008, 1,036 workplace-related deaths were recorded in Canada which represents more than two deaths every day. Another 942,478 were injured or became ill. These numbers to me were quite staggering, especially because one of those 942,478 injured in the workplace was my uncle. In the summer of 2008, my uncle was cutting down trees for the logging company where he works. I often asked my uncle about stories of his logging trips and about the equipment he got to use, but more importantly, I asked if there had ever been an accident or malfunction in equipment. He told me there hadn't been very many accidents and that nobody had been injured, let alone died, for a rather long time at his company. Now, I don't like to believe in karma, but on July, 2008, a chainsaw that wasn't working properly, but appeared to be fine, was picked up by a worker at the logging company. The worker went on with his daily routine and headed to the forest to do what he does best. I don't want to get into details, but my uncle's knee has never been the same since a chainsaw blade accidentally cut into the right side of his knee. Even though his lower leg was nearly taken off, my uncle has fully recovered, but tends to walk with a limp. What I couldn't quite understand is why my uncle returned to working for the logging company, even after he had almost lost a limb, assuring me that it would never happen again. I hope for his sake that it doesn't. Now, after having this hands-on experience with a tragedy in the workplace, I have come to understand that if not for April 28, recognized by the federal government in 1991 as a day of remembrance for those lost while on the job, workplace safety would not have near as big of an impact on everyone and especially young workers entering the working environment. Eight years after this day of remembrance was launched, the Day of Mourning spread to about 80 countries around the world. Also, this memorable day consists of having the Canadian flag on Parliament Hill flown at half-mast, workers lighting candles, donning ribbons and black arm-bands, and stopping for a moment of silence. Also, I found that businesses are asked to take part in April 28, a day of mourning, and to exert much effort to counteract workplace deaths, illnesses and injuries. I hope that each year, the number of deaths and injuries in the workplace will continue to go down. Day of Mourning By Serena Thompson Imagine: wife, kids, four-bedroom house, two cars, and the job of a lifetime as a building project manager. What some people would call the "perfect life." One day, you wake up, have your morning coffee and head off to work, just another normal day. As you're doing some work on a building site, a loose brick slips off the top of a wall and hits you on the back of the head. And just like that, dead; just like that, everything gone in the space of a few seconds. And it's not just you who is the victim, it's your friends and family also. There are so many devastating stories like this all over the world. Even as more health and safety regulations are put in place, there are still tragic accidents and coincidences that happen every single day. It's not just unlucky chance that people are killed in the workplace; there are other obvious reasons. For example, people are killed on the road while driving or being driven to work, and there is a huge number of workers who are being exposed to cancer-causing chemicals. I think we should all try and stop things like this from happening and try to impose new laws and rules so that these things won't happen. But how can we do this? Instead of making new regulations after an incident, predict what's going to happen and change the rules before that can happen. When a new project is started, risk assessments should be carried out ahead of work starting so that safety measures can be put in place to avoid accidents. Finally, teach workers about safe working habits and practices. Asbestos, Benzene, Chromium pigments, Benzidine and Cadmium dyes, some fertilizers and pesticides, various organic solvents, arsenic and related chemicals, Beryllium and related chemicals - these are all just some of the cancerous chemicals commonly found in the workplace. Between two and eight per cent of all cancer cases are believed to be related to cancer-causing substances in the workplace. Workers are exposed to a wide variety of chemicals, and each year, hundreds of newly-developed chemicals are introduced into the workplace. Many of these chemicals have not been adequately tested to determine if they cause cancer. So we don't know whether they could be harmful and be one of the reasons why people are killed in the workplace every place. Every year, approximately 250 workers are killed because of direct work injuries. Every year, about 1,000 people are killed on the roads driving or being driven as part of their work. Every year, between 15,000 and 18,000 people die from being exposed to cancerous chemicals at work. As we remember all those who have been killed and seriously injured, we must also think of those who are, in the future, going to be injured or even killed. People among us today, people in our families, people who are important to us. Let's remember the incidents that have happened before and make sure they don't happen again.
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