Younger Worker Safety

It is the time of year where students hit the job market looking for summer employment.  It is therefore important to review the issues of young worker safety in communities in order to prevent Young Workers from Becoming Young victims. 

In 2001, there were nine fatalities involving young workers (age 24 and under) in Ontario.  In 2003, for the first time in recent records, there were zero fatalities involving workers under 19 for workplaces under Ministry of Labor jurisdiction, and only five in the age range of 20 to 24.

We should never consider the battle won by any means.  Moving into the future, we should include entry-level training, accreditation and, in some industries, business registration.  Safer workplaces mean fewer young worker injuries and fatalities.

The second approach revolves around smarter young workers, who are learning more about health and safety in their school curricula.  More health and safety messages are aimed at attracting the attention of youth, because the more they know – about their rights, their responsibilities and the role their supervisors should be playing to protect their safety on the job – the safer they will be.

Finally, we need to use such innovative strategies as engaging parents and individuals outside the traditional health and safety system. Our goal is to make everyone aware of the importance of young worker health and safety.

We have certainly come along way in establishing a well-integrated and sustainable health and safety awareness and education program for youth.  In fact, Ontario is a leader in health and safety education for teens, but as long as youth continue to suffer preventable injuries and deaths, the work is not done.

While youth are more safety aware today than ever before, the responsibility for providing a safe workplace rests squarely with employers. We must provide quality job – specific training and safe equipment and ensure that safe working procedures are in place and enforced. We all need to do their part.

My goal is to make certain that we are all aware of that responsibility as well.  Although the education sector is not large employer of youth (compared with retail, services and hospitality), there are seasonal employment opportunities for many in the 16-24 age group. As employers, parent and as educators, we need to make sure we’re doing our best to protect the health and safety of our young workers.

After all, they our workforce of the future and safety training is most definitely a part of education & training.

For more information, please contact the EOTB's Executive Director, Denis Thibault: 613.932.0210 or denist@eotb-cfeo.on.ca