Changes coming to Yukon safety course prices • Manitoba construction worker minimum wages to increase 3 per cent • Updated Ontario electrical safety code effective May 1 • WCB of P.E.I. rolls out online employer assessment payment service
Yukon
Changes coming to Yukon safety course prices
Northern Safety Network Yukon (NSNY) will be increasing tuition prices for safety courses as of April 1, 2012. The change will be made “in order to continue providing Yukon employers with the highest standard of training,” the organization said. The tuition increase is the first since 2005 and “is necessary to reflect changes to operational costs,” NSNY said. A full list of courses offered by NSNY is available at: https://nsny.encryptedsecure2.com/Events/View/event_list.cfm
Manitoba
Manitoba construction worker minimum wages to increase 3 per cent
Manitoba’s minimum wages for the commercial, industrial and heavy-construction sectors will be going up three per cent this year. The Construction Industry Wages Consultation Panel came to a consensus on the changes and based on its recommendation, wages for the industrial, commercial and institutional sector will increase three per cent June 1 and again on Jan. 1, 2013. Wages in the heavy construction sector will see two consecutive annual increases of three per cent, with the first raise taking effect on May 1. The panel is a joint industry-labour group covering rural and urban construction. The Construction Industry Wages Act divides the construction industry into the heavy sector and the industrial, commercial and institutional sector. Wage rates differ depending on the type of work performed and encourage participation in the apprenticeship training system to ensure a skilled workforce, said Family Services and Labour Minister Jennifer Howard. More information on wage rates can be found at www.gov.mb.ca/labour/standards.
Ontario
Updated Ontario electrical safety code effective May 1
An updated version of the Ontario Electrical Safety Code (OESC) comes into effect May 1. The 25th edition of the code establishes safety standards for installing and maintaining electrical equipment, including the prevention of fire and shock hazards. All electrical installations in Ontario must conform to the code. There were 83 electrocutions reported in Ontario in the 10-year span between 2001 and 2010, down from 90 in the period between 2000 and 2009. The five-year rolling average electrocution rate has decreased 38 per cent over the last five years. When five-year periods are compared, there were 47 electrocutions in the 2001 to 2005 period and 36 in the 2006 to 2010 period. For fires where electricity as fuel was identified as the ignition source, 91 per cent of the fires were considered unintentional or preventable. These types of fires have a greater percentage classified as preventable/unintentional fires than fires where electricity is not identified as the fuel of the ignition source. The code is available at: http://esasafe.com/Corporate/ontario_electrical_safety_code_25th_edition_2012.php
