TORONTO, August 20, 2007 – Steve Mahoney, Chair of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), launched a new Municipal Community Workplace Health and Safety Charter at the AMO Board meeting yesterday.
“We know that successful workplace safety ‘begins at the top’,” says Mahoney. “That’s why I’m appealing to the municipal leaders to endorse the Charter and serve as models for all employers in their communities. Together, we need to build a culture of workplace health and safety in every Ontario municipality where the only acceptable number of workplace injuries and illnesses is zero.”
On its “Road to Zero”, the WSIB has run several high-profile and striking public awareness campaigns recently to help eliminate workplace injuries and fatalities amongst Ontario workers. The Charter is the latest tool being used in the fight. By signing the Charter with the WSIB, municipalities will be making a public commitment to actively participate in eliminating workplace incidents in their communities.
“The estimated direct and indirect costs of workplace injuries cost about $15 billion per year,” says Mahoney. “That’s money that could be reinvested in their community, instead, that money is taken out of the economy by workplace injuries injuries that are 100% preventable.”
Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) plays a key role in the province’s occupational health and safety system. The WSIB administers no-fault workplace insurance for employers and their workers and is committed to the prevention of workplace injuries and illnesses. The WSIB provides disability benefits, monitors the quality of healthcare, and assists in early and safe return to work for workers who are injured on the job or contract an occupational disease. For more information, visit http://www.wsib.on.ca
Tags: Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB)
