Labour Federation marks day of mourning with call for improved training
Posted Apr 28, 2010 05:42:15 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
National Day of Mourning ceremonies will be held across the province today in honour of workers who have been killed or injured on the job.
The Nova Scotia Labour Federation is using the day to call for more enforcement and regulations and better training for the province’s workers, saying the potential for another Westray death toll is a stark reality.
There have been 32 workplace fatalities in Nova Scotia since last year’s day of mourning, and Labour Federation president Rick Clarke says that’s way too many.
“It’s the highest rate since Westray, and that seems like something we say every year,” “We need greater enforcement and regulation in the workplace.”
Clarke says we’ve come a ways since the 1992 mining disaster at Westray killed 26 men, but safety training certainly needs improving as well.
“If you’re handling a hazardous material and you’re not trained on how to handle it properly or where the Material Safety Data Sheets are then you’re on the threshold of another injury,” he said. “Even possibly a fatality.”
A ceremony marking the National Day of Mourning will take place at 11a.m. at Province House.
