Young workers at risk

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Each year across Canada, thousands of young people are injured on the job. Part of the problem is that workers just starting out aren't aware of the potential dangers in their workplaces, aren't aware of their rights to have a safe place to work, or are just afraid to speak up when they feel a situation puts them in danger.

As many as one third of the workplace accidents that occur each year in Canada involve young workers aged 15 to 24. As one approach to try to decrease those numbers, the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) has launched a new Web site, Job One, designed to give young workers the information they need to stay safe on the job.

The Web site includes practical information for young people, listing their rights and responsibilities on the job, as well as information about wages and working hours. It also provides a list of common workplace hazards, along with ways to reduce the risk of injury from those hazards. Links to local legislation governing workplace safety are also provided, along with links to safe workplace initiatives and workplace safety information from across the country.

The site also provides information to other people who can help keep young workers safe, including employers, parents, and teachers, as well as a section on workplace safety aimed at younger children.

Although the Web site is full of practical information for young workers, the portion of the site that will probably be most effective in driving the message home that workplace safety is something all workers must be concerned about is the section called Get Real. This is where real young people share their stories about how their lives have been changed forever by workplace injuries, and how with a little more thought, or a little more caution, those injuries could have been avoided. In some cases, the stories are told by others, because the young worker involved didn't survive to tell the stories themselves.

The Web site, launched in January, was put together in consultation with a youth committee, made up of representatives from across the country. Two other organizations concerned with workplace safety, the Canadian Association of Administrators of Labour Legislation (CAALL) and the Association of Workers Compensation Boards of Canada (AWCBC) joined CCOHS in coordinating and sponsoring the youth committee.

The Job One Web site can be found at http://job-one.ccohs.ca.