Dear Editor:

I feel compelled to make public comment on an article that appeared on The Vancouver Sun front page on October 8th, 2009 entitled ‘Child Labour Injuries Skyrocket in BC’. As I read the newspaper sitting in Vancouver Airport I found myself becoming more upset.

As a Health and Safety educator, mother and grandmother this article struck a cord, one that should be communicated to all who care for our children and our communities. BC now has the distinction to quote the article of having the latest child labour laws in North America. In our province a person as young as 12 is allowed to work up to a 20-35 hour work week in any industry other than those performing mining and serving alcohol. A child under 12 can work in BC with a permit from the BC Employment Standards Branch. Since the child labour law was changed in 2004 the statistics quoted in the article show that we have seen a substantial increase in injuries of young workers between the ages of 12-14. Statistics are also rising for those 15 and older. I would also say this number will actually be higher as these are reported injuries. Now let’s add into the mix that BC now has the lowest minimum wage in Canada and this does not even account for our training wage of $6/hr that is a possible pay for workers with under 500 hrs. We can see the picture of exploitation of children occurring in our beautiful province. Statistics obtained from WorkSafeBC by First Call showed that there had been in 2008, 42 claims accepted for children 12-14 years of age as the injuries had been of that magnitude, in 2005, only 4 claims were accepted. In July of 2007 WorkSafeBC responded to a dramatic increase in deaths of young workers that took place in 2005 and 2006 by introducing a very strong set of regulations for New and Young Workers. Employers who hire these workers have to provide full orientation on a number of subjects so that these workers are fully aware of their rights and of workplace hazards. Supervision of workers is required as well as full documentation of training. The Vancouver Sun article quoted that the hospitality industry accounted for 56% of young worker injuries between the ages of 12-14 and 46% of injuries for ages 15 or more. As we know this sector is an entry point for young workers into the workforce. In an attempt to bring awareness to this issue and to act as community role models, The Town of Golden, College of the Rockies and Golden Solutions have partnered at different times to offer an education environment for young and new workers in our community. The Town of Golden takes Health and Safety very seriously for their employees as do other groups such as (but not limited to) The Golden Golf Course and should be commended in this regard. I encourage all businesses and young workers in our community to take the Workers Compensation Act and Regulation (3.22-3.25) seriously as these statistics cannot continue this way. Hazard awareness, risk assessment and control, the knowledge of workplace rights are all important pieces in providing a safe working environment for the young of our communities. If all do their part and not take the easy way out in that it costs money to train, we don’t have enough staff, it’s a boring class…maybe…, we won’t get caught, what regulation?... then just maybe in times when families are needing more financial help in providing for their well being we can all stay safe.

Jackie Spain

Golden Solutions

Golden, BC