In preparation for Labour Day, labour experts Bob Barnetson and Jason Foster join us on the blog to answer some questions about their new book Health and Safety in Canadian Workplaces. The book was released as an open educational resource this summer and will be an important addition to any workplace, human resources classroom, or labour studies bookshelf.
Q: Why a book about occupational health and safety?
A: Every year, nearly 1000 Canadians die from work-related causes and almost 240,000 report serious injuries. If you add in moderate and minor injuries as well as unreported injuries, the true level of injury is in the millions.
This tells us two important things. First, workplaces are dangerous. Maybe not as dangerous as they were 50 years ago—but they certainly are not safe. Second, the government and employer injury-prevention efforts are not effective.
We wanted to write a book for students and workers who are interested in understanding why injuries happen and what can be done to prevent these injuries.
Q: Your book is unique in its argument that the conflicting interests of employers and workers affect safety. Can you unpack the idea that OHS is contested terrain?
A: Most health and safety textbooks approach OHS from a technical perspective, in that they teach the how-to’s of basic hazard recognition and control. Our book offers that as well. But we also recognize that the practice of occupational health and safety is also political.
Specifically, the dynamics of capitalism (profit or perish) pressure employers to minimize costs. In the arena of health and safety, this often means employers choose less costly (and less effective) safety strategies. Workers who want to make their workplaces safer need to recognize this dynamic and factor it into their safety activities.
Similarly, governments are supposed to monitor safety and intervene when employers don’t live up to their obligations. But government intervention is often absent or ineffective. Political pressure is necessary to get the state to act in the interests of workers.
Q: Who should read this book?
A: This book is aimed at two groups: Workers and students in human resources programs. Workers will find the book explains why they are being injured, how to make their workplaces safer, and how to cope with employer resistance. Students of human resources will be more effective practitioners if they understand both the technical and political facets of health and safety.
Q: Your book is an open educational resource. Why is it important to you that this book be accessible?
A: The cost of textbooks for students is outrageous. The only other Canadian OHS textbook prices out at $160. Allowing anyone to download our book for free or purchase a $30 print edition reduces the cost of university education and makes the book accessible to a wider audience.
We’re also hopeful that the book will be a useful resource for workers, employers, and trade unions. High quality, free educational resources are hard to come by. Over the next year or two, we hope to supplement the textbook with a free course using open course ware so anyone who is interested in the topic can take the class for free.
Q: As labour experts, what do you think we should celebrate this Labour Day?
A: There have been lots of positive developments for workers over the past few years. An important one is the growing recognition by the Supreme Court that labour rights be constitutionally protected. This has helped reverse a long-term trend towards making it harder for workers to join unions and otherwise exercise their workplace rights.
In keeping with this trend, the decision by Alberta’s government to extend paid farm workers basic workplace rights is certainly a highlight. Until Alberta passed Bill 6 in late 2015, farm workers had no right to know about workplace hazards or refuse unsafe work. They had no guaranteed access to compensation if they were injured and there were no child labour laws on Alberta farms. Bill 6 brought farm work in Alberta out of the 19th century. We are hopeful it will make farm workplaces safer.
Download Foster and Barnetson’s book right here.
