Increase in disease deaths prompts new strategy for the province
Alberta’s workplace fatality rate rose 24 per cent in 2010, with 136 workplace-related fatalities.
Despite decreases in the province’s lost-time claim rates, the 2010 rate of workplace deaths was 78 fatalities per million full-time jobs.
“We’ve certainly come a long way over the last two decades,” said Thomas Lukaszuk, minister of employment and immigration. “However, as far as we’ve come, there’s still a long way to go. We won’t rest until the rate is zero.”
The numbers are up from 2009 when there were 110 deaths. There were 165 workplace related fatalities in 2008.
Of the 136 fatalities in 2010, 43 were workplace incidents, 31 were motor vehicle incidents and 62 were occupational disease. The 2010 numbers are among the highest ever recorded for occupational disease.
The occupational disease data has prompted a new occupational disease prevention strategy in the province.
The initiative will be a partnership with Alberta Health Services, Alberta Health and Wellness and the Workers’ Compensation Board-Alberta. The partnership will produce develop strategies to increase understanding of the relationship between workplace exposures and occupational disease, identify and promote the appropriate control methods to reduce exposure to hazards causing occupational disease and create a culture supporting occupational disease prevention.
“We know occupational disease fatalities are going to continue to rise over the next few years,” said Lukaszuk. “This initiative will help us better understand current working conditions to ensure long, healthy and productive lives for today’s workers.”
The province’s lost time claim rate was the lowest it has been since data has been collected over the past 20 years. The 2010 rate was 1.41 injuries for every 100 full-time jobs. In 2009 the rate was 1.53, down from 4.13 in 1991. This marks 10 straight years of decline.
The disabling injury claim rate also decreased. The rate, which includes workers injured yet able to perform modified work, went from 2.79 per 100 full-time jobs in 2009 to 2.67 in 2010.
