Union's Play Vital Role in Workplace Safety

Excerpts from MFL President Darlene Dziewit's closing speech to the health and safety conference.

We all know the importance of good Health and Safety legislation in protecting workers from injury or death on the job. It is important to have employers who are committed to safety issues, but the single most important protection for workers health and safety is a union. This is true whether or not workers actually have a union.

We make a difference in their protection. We lobby, we make changes and we are listened to. Sometimes, on many issues, unions are not favourably viewed by the public. But when it comes to health and safety matters, everyone accepts our commitment and dedication to preventing workplace injuries and diseases on behalf of all working people.

I want to tell you the tale of two workplaces to illustrate the difference a union can make. Two mine fires – one in Saskatchewan and the other in West Virginia provide us a glaring example of the importance of union activism in workplace Safety and Health.

On January 29 of this year, the Mosaic Company mine in Esterhazy Saskatchewan was the scene of a potentially tragic fire. Seventy miners, members of the Communication, Energy and Paperworkers' Union were trapped underground for more than 24 hours – besieged by toxic smoke that filled the 30 kilometre by 20 kilometre network of tunnels.

All of their lives were saved by the emergency refuge stations they were able to take shelter in – refuge stations that their union fought hard for. These refuge stations were sealable chambers containing air, food, water, emergency medical equipment and telecommunications gear.

While the fire was being doused and the air cleared, most of the men in the refuge stations were finally able to relax somewhat, sleep on cots and speak to the surface by telephone. More than 24 hours after the start of the emergency, rescue crews led everyone safely to the surface.

Union officials say realizing these refuge stations was the direct result of hard work by union members and a spirit of cooperation on safety issues between the union members and the company – a spirit made possible by a legislative framework similar to that which exists in Manitoba. In this environment, safety issues and concerns raised by the union are addressed in order to meet the needs of the members.

At the end of the day, 70 miners went home to families and friends, alive and well, because three unions (the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union, the United Steelworkers and the United Mine Workers) spent nearly a decade convincing the government of Saskatchewan to implement the necessary legislation and regulations.

Less than a month before the Esterhazy event, 12 of our brothers died when an explosion shattered the Sago mine in Tallmansville, West Virginia. Only one of 13 miners trapped underground survived the ordeal because emergency cannisters they were using were only designed to provide them with a limited amount of oxygen. And most of those canisters were defective and non-functional.

At the heart of this disaster is the question, why did these events turn out so differently? The answer is clear. There was a union in Esterhazy. The workers in Tallmansville had no union. It is that simple Sisters and Brothers.

I listened very carefully to the reports the various workshops at this health and safety conference gave and there was a common thread here – we need more information. Workshop One on ABC’s, for new Health and Safety Committee members reported back that they needed to know more. Workshop Two on Effective Committees reported they had learned a great deal, but needed to move forward.

Workshop Three on Workers Compensation pored over the recent changes to the Act and examined the kinds of regulations they would like to see. Workshop 4 on Emerging Environmental Issues commented that this was a tremendously large subject area, and that we are only now scratching the surface on environmental concerns in the workplace.

Workplace 5 examined the new Health and Safety Regulations. This was not a dry subject to the participants. Rather they were energized and excited about how to apply these changes to their workplaces. Workshop 6 on Ergonomics reported that so much more needs to be done here in making the workplace fit the worker, rather than the other way around. Workplace 7 on Stress recognized that all workers feel stress and that it is how this is managed and recognized when it gets out of hand that matters.

In closing, I want to thank you, on behalf of all working Manitobans for your commitment to their Health and Safety. They owe you a great deal.