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WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21191989, PAGE 7 PAGE SE YEN 1 My goverament is, even as we speak, Nobody wants tohsee needless workplace accidentsaan fatalities.Buttpreventnglthoseaacidentsgaodoneatingeth inurd asbeoe eoVheme E auNCExecsso our provincilugoAernment bueura ccupational health ystem.o su, s' t Th oc asio wsea puldebae ponsoen thendat Oshawa ha be of mre oneo the ujecticof Bul 208,----a bih to upate" ctOcuatioalh sselhadSaeyAt Axnong other things the new act is to be adxinistered by a committee composed equally of business reps and union e- O reps ("because they're the only organized representatives of workers"). As a result the bill bas corne under heavy fire from business groups, most notably the Canadian- Federation of Independent Business(CFIB). The new act also gives designated workers the right to order work stoppages where they feel conditions are unsafe. And -management mst comply.CBesides Mr. Sorbara, the debate included Gordon Wil- son, the president of the Ontario Federation of Labour on ---___________________-----_____________________ the pro side and representatives from the CFIB and the Ontario Home Builders Association on the nay side. The audience, being a businessgroup, was predominantly > against any more government involvement. The fact that non-union labor is without representation is an obvious concern. Only 36% (according to Mr. Wilson- only 28% according to Mr. Botting of the CFIB) of Ontario workers are unionized. This is not for lack of trying; unions have been trying to raise that nurnber for 50 years with little success. One bas to conclude that most workers have no burning desire to join unions and hence might not appreciate the government's intention to have union leaders represent them in matters of occupational health. My main concern, though, is bureaucracy - something most businesses, both big and small can do without. Ail participants in the debate were quite adept at quot- ing statistics. Depending on who you beieve, workplace acci- dents are increasing, decreasing or staying the samne - in the ten years since Ontario's current Ocupational Safety Act was passed, there have been dramatic improvements . . .or no îm- provement in the safety of Ontario workers. If you average the statistics, you conclude that notbing much bas changed .except the level of bureaucracy. Bureaucracy is any activity that increases workload witbout any increase (usually a decrease) in productivity. The current Occupational Health and Safety Act is bureacratic and the new version is sure to increase it. The new act puts more stress on training which sbould IRESIDENCE 0F Mfl. TILEODORE MCGILLl.VRAY, DUNDAS& PERRY ST, 1926 be a good thing except that every time the Minister men- This fine brick bouse was built in the 1860s for James Campbell, a general merchant. It was tioned training, he added that workers would Iearn about the residence of Judge Theodore McGillivray until bis death in 1925. The house was the Act. Aren't they supposed to learn about safety? demolished in 1954. Hakim Optical stands on the site new. Unfortunately it ail rings too true. Before I got into the Whltby Archives photo newspaper field, I worked in medical technology, a highly specialized field. When the labour department inspector came aoundbis f.st-qustionwas-whther copyof-the10 YERS AG too many; yet regardless cf the amount cf education, inspec- on June 16. tien and bureaucratic red tape, accidents and deaths will * Town Council bas refussed te approve bigb fise apartmnents in Whitby. continue ta, occur. Every death was probably preventable in hindsigbt (a bureaucratic forte) ... just like traffic accidents and plane crashes. Hindsight never saves lives. 7 ER G Governnient policy should focus on the smnall minority cf 75roîn theO employers and workers who take a cynical and cavalier fo h Thursday, June 18, 1914 editien of the attitude tawards their own and others' safety. The only way * h 4hRgmn a tWHITBY fETumErtAiN ng atNiagrao-teLae ta prevent accidents is te stress responsibility. Those who, *Tho nt e Whit ba rsdets Mt rs.Wilimm 0.tEatwood aNdilliram Grh-ane i through negligence or deliberate acts. cause workplace acci- Tw oe hi eiek. Ms ilam0 atodan ila rig, dedhs dents should be held criminally responsible in a court cf law. *Aimonds Sunday School bas held the first garden party of tbe season. The threat ofjail may be tbe only thing they understand.* The WVhitby Township Council will put a notice in the Gazette and Chronicle prohibiting As for the vast majerity of employers, the new act the dumping of garbage on bigbways in tbe township. should let tbem get on with tbeir job with as little red tape as possible._____________________________________________ _____