Repetitive Strain Injury Awareness Day February 29

Friday, February 29 is Repetitive Strain Injury Awareness Day. A Statistics Canada report going back to 2003 indicated that one out of every 10 Canadian adults had a repetitive strain injury (RSI) serious enough to limit their normal activities. Broader studies, using a societal approach have placed the total cost of RSIs at $26.6 billion, or about 3.4 per cent of the gross domestic product.

Workers in sales or service, trades, transport or equipment operating, farming, forestry, fishing or mining, and processing/manufacturing or utilities are at high risks of reporting an RSI. Women's jobs, especially office jobs and micro assembly work, often involve a high risk for RSI which may explain why generally, more women reported a new RSI to worker's compensation boards.

The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) is urging all levels of government to take the issue of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) more seriously. Ergonomic regulations to protect Canadian workers from coast-to-coast-to-coast are long over due, as is proper enforcement of regulations where they currently exist.

Repetitive strain injuries creates significant personal and economic burden for workers and also has a major impact on health care costs, since many of these injuries are not reported to worker's compensation boards. Work stress deriving from a fast work pace, role ambiguity, worry and monotonous tasks have been associated with RSIs in the past. The Statistics Canada report supports the association between work stress and RSIs.

Today, there are regulations dealing with these issues in some provinces and, federally, ergonomics have been incorporated in the Hazard Prevention Regulations. While this is a victory, there is still much to be done to ensure enforcement of these regulations. The CLC is calling on the federal government to ensure that the ergonomic regulations which were recently incorporated in the federal Hazard Prevention Regulations, be enforced.

The CLC also wants the government to provide proper training to federal workplace inspectors so that ergonomic hazards are identified and eliminated wherever possible. Provincial and territorial governments are being asked to introduce ergonomic regulations if they have not yet done so.