Young people need to know their rights on the job

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Every year in Saskatchewan, almost 8,000 young workers aged 15 to 24 are injured at work and, on average, five young workers die each year on the job. These accidental injuries and deaths are due to the lack of training by employers and the fact that youth are unaware of their rights and responsibilities in the workplace or they don't know what is hazardous to them.

"Young people don't ever think that they are going to be hurt on the job," said Carole Sedgwick, education consultant for the occupational health and safety division at Saskatchewan Labour. "They just don't think about their safety, but they should."

Sedgwick said that young workers should know their rights and responsibilities in the workplace and that those rights are enshrined within Saskatchewan legislation. They have the right to know about hazards in the workplace, how to identify them and how to protect themselves from those hazards, and the right to participate in occupational health and safety decisions.

"A lot of young people don't know what a hazard is and the reason why they don't is because they're not properly trained for the job that they're doing," said Sedgwick. .

Saskatchewan Labour is working to give young workers the information they need to stay safe on the job through it's Ready for Work program, which provides information to young workers, teachers and employers about occupational health and safety and labour standard issues. The program was set up in 1998 because of a growing concern from the labour department.

"Our Ready for Work program is a very comprehensive program. It creates a level of awareness," said Sedgwick.

As part of the program, a Young Worker Health and Safety, Student and Parent Evening has been scheduled for May 1 at the Doris Knight Hall Conexus Arts Centre in Regina to get the message out to young workers about safety in the workplace.

"This event is the first of its kind and we're very excited about this," said Sedgwick. "We've been wanting to do something for the last few years at least to involve parents in a higher profile with getting awareness and knowledge about occupational health and safety and labour standard issues for young workers because parents are obviously a target audience to get the message to their children."

In partnership with the North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) planning committee, Sedgwick said they have invited Julie Hamilton to make a special presentation during the information evening. Hamilton is the mother of a 19-year-old summer student who died on the job. She will talk about losing her son and the importance of health and safety in the workplace.

There will also be interactive displays set up during the two-hour event that will involve young workers demonstrating protective equipment.

Since 2000, Sedgwick has reached approximately 650 teachers throughout Saskatchewan through health and safety workshops.

If each of those teachers has about 25 students in their class, "we're looking at 25,000 to 30,000 students that have been reached through our teacher workshops," she said.

"It's the tip of the iceberg but we are making good headway," said Sedgwick. "It's a very sustainable way of getting the awareness and the education across to young people."

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Sedgwick stressed that getting this information out to young Aboriginal workers is vitally important because their representation within Saskatchewan's workforce is on the rise.

According to Sedgwick, statistics from the 2004 Workers Compensation Board show there were 139,000 young people between the ages of 15 to 24 in the labour force. About 90 per cent of them were Aboriginal youth.

"The Aboriginal population is growing and they're becoming more of a force in our labour market throughout the province," said Sedgwick. "Aboriginal people are needed everywhere in Saskatchewan. I know that the government of Saskatchewan is desperately trying to attract Aboriginal people to wrk within all government departments."

More information about the student and parent evening or about workplace health and safety issues can be found online at www.readyforwork.sk.ca.