Safety Matters

Hot on the heels of the release of the Workplace Safety Strategy is the Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia 2012 Annual Report.
For another consecutive year real progress has been made toward a Nova Scotia that is safe and secure from injury, where fewer workers were hurt while making a living. The number of people injured continues to decline and fewer days are lost to injury.
 
Here are some key highlights from this year’s report:

• Time-loss workplace injuries in Nova Scotia declined by 4.3 per cent to 6,341, (the total number of time-loss injuries), and our injury rate has dropped to 1.96 - the lowest rate in this province since time-loss claims have been measured this way.
• There were 19,000 fewer lost days of work due to injury in Nova Scotia in 2012 – the equivalent of 52 working years.
• Since 2005, Nova Scotia has realized a 22% decline in workplace injuries overall, and a 30% reduction among serious injuries.

While this is progress to be proud of, there is still work to be done. There were 32 fatalities in 2012 and already in 2013 the fishing sector has seen seven workplace fatalities. Fishing, among other industries, will continue to be a primary area of focus for the Workers’ Compensation Board and its safety partners.
 
Moving forward it will take the efforts of all Nova Scotians to ensure continued success at reducing workplace tragedy. Workers, employers, industry and labour leaders, government and all partners must come together to strengthen the culture of safety in our workplaces.

No one person or organization can do it alone, but collective and strong leadership can and will.