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In This Issue |
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JHSC 3-day
Training
January 13-15, 2009
Bathurst
(E), Moncton (F),
Saint John (E)
January 20-22, 2009
Fredericton
(E),
Woodstock (E)
January 27-29,
2009
Beresford
(F), Grand Falls (F),
Moncton (E)
E indicates workshops given
in English
F
indicates workshops given in French
Click
here
or
call
1 800 222-9775
for more
information.
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Did you know |
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Musculoskeletal
injuries (MSIs) account for almost 36% of the lost-time claims
submitted to WorkSafeNB, with back and shoulder injuries
representing 70% of these. Click here for information
that can help you reduce MSIs at your
workplace.
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Stakeholder Profile
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Meet
Conrad
Pitre, board member representing the general
public.
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Interesting Link |
Check
out Workscape,
a discussion board for the professional exchange of ideas
and information related to occupational and environmental
health and safety, hosted by the Canadian Centre for
Occupational Health and
Safety. | |
| Subscriber Infomation |
|
Received WorkSafeNB
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ABOUT
E-NEWS:
WorkSafeNB E-News is a monthly publication designed to
bridge the gap between WorkSafeNB's website and WorkSafeNB
Contact, our print-edition newsletter, which is published twice a
year.
WorkSafeNB E-News will provide you with timely
access to the kind of health and safety news you need to protect
your workers, your co-workers and yourself.
FEEDBACK
If you have any suggestions or comments,
please don't hesitate to hit 'reply' and tell us what you think!
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WorkSafeNB
wishes everyone a happy and safe holiday season. To help protect
you and your loved ones over the holidays, please click on the
link for some valuable
safety tips, and some great ideas for “safety”
gifts.
| 2009 Assessment Rates
Announced
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WorkSafeNB has decreased the average
assessment rate for the fourth consecutive year.
Reduced accident frequency and accident costs
warranted an average rate reduction of $0.02, from $2.05 per
$100 of payroll in 2008, to $2.03. The minimum assessment
rate will also be reduced, from $0.40 per $100 of payroll to
$0.35. The rates are effective January 1, 2009.
The
rate reduction will see assessed premium amounts for
approximately 7,300 employers either drop or remain stable
in 2009, and represents the lowest average assessment rate
in Atlantic Canada.
“This is good news for all
New Brunswickers. By paying less for their compensation
premiums, our registered employers will reduce their cost of
doing business. But, more importantly, because accident
costs play the largest part in determining assessment rates,
it means that New Brunswick’s workplace safety continues to
improve,” said Roberta Dugas, chair of WorkSafeNB’s board of
directors.
Click here
to view 2009 Industry Assessment
Rates.
| WorkSafeNB Grants Land
to Nature Trust of New
Brunswick
|
Above,
left to right: Doug Stanley, president and CEO,
WorkSafeNB;
Ken
Hirtle, president, Nature Trust of New Brunswick;
Grand Bay-Westfield mayor Grace Losier; Hon. Jack
Keir, MLA Fundy River Valley; Roberta Dugas,
chairperson, board of directors,
WorkSafeNB.
A
memorandum of understanding was signed October 23,
2008 by WorkSafeNB and the Nature
Trust of New Brunswick, granting land behind the
Workers’ Rehabilitation Centre (WRC) in Grand
Bay-Westfield to the Nature Trust, a charitable
organization dedicated to preserving nature for the
benefit of present and future generations of New
Brunswickers.
The land,
known as Blueberry Hill, comprises 50 acres of diverse
habitats and ecosystems, including fields, marshes and
different forest types bordering the beautiful St.
John River. “We acquired this land as part of a
transaction in 1975, and although our rehab clients
and staff have enjoyed walking the paths in this
wooded sanctuary for many years, we felt it was being
underused,” said Doug Stanley, president and CEO of
WorkSafeNB. “We are proud to convey this land to the
Nature Trust of New Brunswick to ensure more people
know about this land, and that more people use it. But
while we want to increase the land’s use, we must also
maintain its integrity, and preserve its pristine
state. We are confident that The Nature Trust of New
Brunswick will treasure the land, promote it and
protect it, and we commend their commitment to
conserving our province’s natural habitats,” Stanley
said.
“The
Blueberry Hill property will provide the residents of
the Lower Saint John River Valley with a nature
preserve to be protected and enjoyed in perpetuity,”
said Ken Hirtle, president of The Nature Trust of New
Brunswick. “Public waterfront property on the rivers
and the coasts is disappearing and this preserve will
protect one of the most beautiful pieces of property
on the Lower Saint John River Valley. This property is
a natural gem to be found within the borders of Grand
Bay-Westfield and the City of Saint John,” he
said.
Click here
to view photos
| Operation Red
Nose offers partygoers and their cars a free,
safe ride
home
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Every
year, more than 70,000 Canadians are killed or
seriously injured in impaired driving crashes.
Operation Red Nose (ORN) is a unique program
designed to reduce this statistic. ORN is a
free, designated-driver service that
gets drivers who may be unfit to
drive, and their passengers, to their
destinations safely – in their own cars –
during the holiday season. Motorists who call
ORN are picked up by a team of three volunteers
and an escort vehicle, and driven in their own
vehicles to the destinations of their choice.
The escort vehicle tags along and, at the end of
the trip, drives the team to pick up other
clients or back to the local headquarters. Fuel
costs are covered through sponsorship (in New
Brunswick, the Insurance Bureau of Canada) and
donations.
Delivering
the cars safely is vital to the program’s
success because drivers often cite concern
about leaving their cars
behind as a factor in their
decision to drive or not drive. The service
operates in more than 100 communities across
Canada. ORN typically runs Friday and Saturday
nights in December, as well as New Year’s Eve in
some locations.
In
New Brunswick this holiday season, ORN will
provide service in the following locations and
their surrounding areas: the Acadian Peninsula,
Moncton, Edmundston, Oromocto-Burton and Saint
John. For more information on Operation Red
Nose, please visit:
http://www.operationnezrouge.com/en/. |
Q: What
are we required to have posted in the workplace?
There are various companies out there trying to
sell posters of "required information" and none
of them are the same. What do we really need to
do?
John
Smith*
Moncton,
NB
*Name has been
changed for privacy purposes.
A: The
Occupational Health and Safety Act
requires employers to post a copy of the
OHS Act and regulations, which include
regulations 91-191, 88-221, 2004-130 and 92-133.
In addition, the first aid regulation requires
that employers post an emergency communication
plan and the names of the organization’s trained
first aid responders. JHSC minutes, along with
the names of JHSC members and any reports a
WorkSafeNB health and safety officer may leave
at the workplace, must also be
posted.
The OHS Act and all
the regulations are available through the
Queen’s Printer in Fredericton by calling 506
453-2520 or online at www.worksafenb.ca.
If
you have a question for Ask us! please forward
to beverly.stears@ws-ts.nb.ca.
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Date of
Accident: |
November
6,
2008 |
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Injury
Type: |
Fractured
skull |
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Hospitalized:
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Yes |
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Industry:
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Excavation
/ Dump truck
operator |
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Location: |
Southeast |
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Notes: :
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Operator
was struck in the head by the dump truck
gate. |
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