By Lynn Bueckert, Secretary-Business Manager
The National Day of Mourning on April 28 is not only a day to reflect on the 146 workers who lost their lives in 2024 due to job-related injuries or illness, but it’s also a reminder of the enormous changes still required to make our workplaces safer.
Take health care in our province.
During a 12 month period between 2023 and 2024, a total of 476,000 workdays were lost due to injury. That’s like eliminating 1,800 workers from the health sector for the entire year.
But it’s hardly surprising to members of HEU. Workers in the health sector continue to have the highest injury rate of all workers in B.C. – higher than construction workers, paramedics, firefighters and even the police.
In fact, the injury rate in health care in British Columbia is double the provincial rate. It’s even higher in acute care. And in long-term care, it’s more than five times the provincial average.
HEU members were on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic, heralded as “heroes” by the public and the media. But every day, it’s clear B.C.’s health care heroes face insurmountable obstacles to stay safe.
The highest on-the-job injuries for health care workers are overexertion which causes musculoskeletal injuries (MSIs), exposure to hazardous substances, and violence.
At the same time, we are seeing increased patient acuity, chronic staffing shortages, the poison drug crisis, and growing numbers of patients with mental health challenges.
This all leads to a perfect storm that’s contributing to life-altering injuries and alarming rates of violence against health care workers.
That’s why the HEU continues to push decision-makers to do more to improve health and safety.
Plus, through public sector bargaining, we’ve negotiated better supports for workers who experience job-related soft-tissue injuries, violent incidents, trauma and stress.
And we’ve strengthened occupational health and safety provisions around workload.
But it takes a team to keep workers safe.
British Columbia has some of the strongest health and safety laws and regulations in this country.
Employers also have a legal responsibility to ensure the psychological safety of workers. And the union needs even stronger collective agreement language to ensure employers comply with the law.
We must commit to keeping all workers safe. And in health care, it’s critical to protect the workers who deliver quality care so it’s there when we need it.