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New Brunswick Celebrates 20 Years of Safety Breakfasts
Nobody needs to explain the importance of workplace health and safety to Roy Silliker.
Having spent the last 22 years working in the heavy construction industry, Silliker has seen far too many workplace injuries. Wanting to stop these injuries led to his current position as the general manager of the New Brunswick Construction Safety Association (NBCSA) in Miramichi.
And with North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week just around the corner (May 2–8), he finds himself kicking it into high gear. NAOSH Week activities include a series of breakfasts featuring health and safety discussions for JHSC members across New Brunswick, and Silliker is one of a select few who have attended every one of them.
“The breakfasts host interesting speakers and provides a chance to meet with others in the field, to swap ideas and suggestions on how to improve the sector overall.”
NAOSH Week evolved from the CSSE’s (Canadian Society of Safety Engineering) Canadian Occupational Health and Safety (COHS) Week, which took place from 1986 to 1996. New Brunswick began celebrating the safety week in 1990, making 2010 the 20th anniversary.
NAOSH was conceived when labour representatives from Canada, Mexico and the United States met during the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) talks in the mid 90s. The CSSE was asked to expand its COHS Week into a North American initiative. The logistics for NAOSH Week were laid out between 1997 and 2000.
Silliker says the program has come a long way since the early 90s, when breakfasts and other activities were often limited to the province’s larger urban centres.
“Thanks to changing attitudes, innovation and especially the hard word of volunteers, we’ve experienced continuous growth. There used to only be breakfasts in Moncton, Saint John and Fredericton. Now they happen right across the province.”
This year’s theme is “'Safety and Health: A Commitment for Life! How Safe Are You?”
“It’s an important question people should ask themselves. Yes, there is an overhead cost, but safety improves morale and happier workers are more productive workers. As well, fewer lost time claims means a better bottom line.”
For more information on NAOSH Week, please visit: www.naosh.ca.
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