Province's rate was 3.05 per cent in 2011
Last year was the ninth straight year Saskatchewan saw a drop in time-loss injuries, according to the province’s Workers’ Compensation Board.
The province’s time loss injury rate was 3.05 per cent, a decrease of 2.3 per cent from 2010.
As the time loss injury rate went down in 2011, however, the total injury rate increased from 8.7 per cent in 2010 to 8.73 per cent.
“The increase in total injury rate is disappointing,” Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) Chairperson David Eberle said. “Overall, there were more people working in Saskatchewan in 2011 than 2010, and we know there are workers and employers across the province striving for Mission: Zero, but we as a province have to stop accepting injuries as ‘accidents’ and an inevitable part of work.”
Mission: Zero is a WorkSafe Saskatchewan project to eliminate workplace injuries.
The WCB and Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety (LRWS) forged the WorkSafe Saskatchewan injury prevention partnership in 2002.
The WorkSafe goal is to eliminate workplace illness, injury and death. Since its inception, Saskatchewan’s total injury rate has improved by 24 per cent.
“Employers and workers must always be alert to workplace hazards,” Deputy Minister of LRWS Mike Carr said. “Injuries don’t just happen. These are predictable and preventable events. While we should be proud of the achievements to date, there is still much work to be done to eliminate illness and injury in the workplace.”
