Young Worker Orientation -- Speak Up! (Complete version)

Summary

The video script addresses a critical issue: the alarming frequency of job-related injuries and fatalities among young workers in Ontario, Canada. It recounts tragic stories of young lives cut short due to workplace accidents, emphasizing the need for awareness and action. The narrative highlights that in 2000, 17,897 young Canadians were fatally injured at work, with 60,000 more injured in 1998. The video stresses the importance of recognizing the risks associated with various jobs, the legal rights of workers to safety training, and the responsibility of all parties—employers, supervisors, and workers—to ensure a safe working environment. It encourages young workers to be proactive about their safety, to ask questions, and to report any hazards. The message is clear: no job is worth the risk of injury or death, and by taking responsibility and speaking up, we can honor those who have lost their lives and prevent future tragedies.

Takeaways

• 📊 **Statistics on Youth Injuries**: Young workers aged 15-24 experience injuries 42 times a day on average in Ontario, highlighting the prevalence of workplace accidents among this demographic.
• 🚨 **Fatal Incidents**: Real-life stories of young workers like Doug, Matthew, and David underscore the tragic reality of fatal accidents that can occur, even for seemingly mundane tasks.
• 🧮 **Alarming Numbers**: In Ontario alone, 17,897 young Canadians were fatally injured at work in 2000, and 60,000 more were injured in 1998, indicating the scale of the issue.
• 😷 **Invisible Crisis**: Despite the high numbers, these incidents often go unreported in the news, leading to a lack of public awareness and urgency.
• 🤔 **Blind Faith**: Many young workers start jobs without considering the potential dangers, attributing to a mix of courage, inexperience, and overconfidence.
• 👷 **Shared Responsibility**: The responsibility for health and safety falls on everyone – employers, supervisors, and workers – and requires collective action to prevent accidents.
• 🚫 **Right to Refuse**: Workers have the legal right to refuse work they believe is unsafe without fear of retaliation, emphasizing the importance of speaking up.
• 🛡️ **Use of Protective Equipment**: Workers must use the protective gear provided and follow safe work practices as trained, which is crucial in preventing injuries.
• ❓ **Ask Questions**: Encouragement for young workers to ask questions about health and safety, especially when working with unfamiliar machinery, to prevent accidents.
• 📚 **Education and Training**: The importance of being informed about legal requirements and receiving proper training on potential hazards and safe work practices.
• 💡 **Speak Up**: A call to action for young workers to voice concerns about safety, report hazards, and not engage in dangerous work practices to save lives, including their own.

Q & A

What is the average number of young workers aged 15 to 24 injured on the job in Ontario per day?

The average number of young workers injured on the job in Ontario per day is 42 times.

What was the occupation of Doug, the young worker mentioned in the script?

Doug was cleaning the inside of a cement mixer when the power suddenly turned on, leading to his fatal injury.

What happened to Matthew, a 19-year-old worker in a sawmill?

Matthew's head was crushed by a strapping machine in the sawmill when he went to check why the pressing device wasn't coming down on the stack of wood.

What was the age of David when he was drawn into the moving blades of an industrial cookie dough mixer?

David was 18 years old when he was fatally injured by the moving blades of the mixer.

How many young Canadians between the ages of 15 and 24 were fatally injured at work in Ontario in the year 2000?

In the year 2000, 17,897 Canadians between the ages of 15 and 24 were fatally injured at work in Ontario.

What is the percentage by which young workers are more likely to be injured per hour worked than workers over the age of 24?

Young workers are 54% more likely to be injured per hour worked than those workers over the age of 24.

What is the shared responsibility in ensuring health and safety on the job?

Health and safety on the job is a shared responsibility that requires teamwork and cooperation of employers, supervisors, and workers.

What is the legal right of a worker if they believe the work could endanger themselves or their co-workers?

A worker is legally entitled to refuse work if they believe it could endanger themselves or their co-workers without any fear of reprisal from their boss.

What should a young worker do if they are not properly trained for the work they are being asked to do?

A young worker should speak up and not pretend to know more than they actually do about their work environment or any particular work task.

What is the role of a health and safety representative in the workplace?

A health and safety representative is responsible for addressing concerns about workplace hazards and ensuring that safety issues are properly dealt with.

What is the purpose of the Young Worker Awareness Program created by Ontario's Workplace Safety and Insurance Board?

The Young Worker Awareness Program is designed to give students and other young workers the information they need to protect their health and safety at work.

How can young workers ensure they are aware of their rights and responsibilities for health and safety?

Young workers can ensure they are aware of their rights and responsibilities by accessing resources such as the Young Worker Awareness Program's website and speaking up about any health and safety concerns.

Outlines

00:00

🚨 The Alarming Reality of Young Worker Injuries and Fatalities

This paragraph addresses the concerning issue of job-related injuries and fatalities among young workers aged 15 to 24 in Ontario. It emphasizes that such incidents occur an average of 42 times a day, highlighting tragic cases of young workers named Doug, Matthew, and David, whose dreams were abruptly ended by workplace accidents. The paragraph provides statistics from the year 2000, indicating that 17,897 young Canadians were fatally injured at work, and 60,000 more were injured. It calls attention to the lack of public awareness and action regarding these incidents, comparing the lack of media coverage to the extensive reporting that would follow if 57 Canadian soldiers were killed in action. It concludes by suggesting that everyone shares some responsibility for these ongoing tragedies and encourages a reevaluation of attitudes towards workplace safety.

05:01

🛡️ Shared Responsibility for Workplace Health and Safety

The second paragraph delves into the statistics of workplace fatalities and the importance of recognizing the shared responsibility for health and safety. It compares the number of deaths from work-related incidents to the fatalities from the World Trade Center attacks on September 11th, 2001, to underscore the severity of the issue. The paragraph discusses the role of employers, supervisors, and workers in ensuring safety and the need for collective action. It highlights the higher risk faced by young workers, who are 54% more likely to be injured than older workers. The importance of awareness, training, and risk assessment is emphasized, along with the legal rights and responsibilities of workers, including the right to refuse unsafe work and the duty to report hazards. The paragraph encourages young workers to be proactive about their safety, to ask questions, and to utilize available resources, such as the Young Worker Awareness Program in Ontario.

10:03

📢 Speaking Up for Young Worker Health and Safety

The final paragraph serves as a call to action, stressing the importance of speaking up for health and safety in the workplace. It reminds the audience that no job is worth the risk of injury or death, and that many young workers have been injured or lost their lives due to a lack of communication about safety concerns. The paragraph encourages young workers to prioritize health and safety, to honor the memory of those who have died by preventing similar incidents. It also emphasizes the role of the law and common sense in promoting safe work practices and the importance of reporting unsafe conditions or practices. The paragraph concludes with a motivational message to speak up for health and safety, invoking the support of the audience in this endeavor.

Keywords

💡Young workers

Young workers are individuals between the ages of 15 and 24 who are employed and often face higher risks of injury or fatality in the workplace. The video emphasizes the vulnerability of this demographic, highlighting incidents such as the tragic accidents involving Doug, Matthew, and David to illustrate the severity of occupational hazards for young employees. The theme of the video revolves around raising awareness and improving safety for young workers.

💡Workplace injuries

Workplace injuries refer to physical harm or accidents that occur while an individual is engaged in their job. The script provides a stark reminder of the frequency and severity of these incidents among young workers in Ontario, with an average of 42 injuries per day. The video aims to educate viewers on the importance of safety measures to prevent such occurrences.

💡Fatalities

Fatalities in the context of the video denote the unfortunate loss of life due to workplace accidents. The mention of 17,897 Canadians being fatally injured at work in 2000 and 57 young workers losing their lives in a single year underscores the urgency of addressing workplace safety. The video uses these statistics to highlight the human cost of inadequate safety precautions.

💡Safety measures

Safety measures are the precautions and protocols put in place to prevent accidents and injuries in the workplace. The video discusses the importance of these measures, such as safety guards on machinery and training on hazard assessment, which are crucial for protecting workers, especially young and inexperienced ones.

💡Risk assessment

Risk assessment is the process of identifying and evaluating hazards in the workplace to determine the appropriate safety measures. The video stresses the importance of being aware of and trained to assess risks, as exemplified by the need for young forestry workers to understand the dangers associated with their tasks.

💡Legal rights and responsibilities

Legal rights and responsibilities pertain to the obligations and protections afforded to workers by law, particularly in the context of health and safety. The video emphasizes that workers have the right to refuse unsafe work and to be trained on potential hazards, as well as the responsibility to report any unsafe practices or conditions.

💡Health and safety training

Health and safety training involves educating workers on how to identify, prevent, and respond to workplace hazards. The video mentions that young workers are legally entitled to receive such training from their employers, which is essential for their protection and the reduction of accidents.

💡Unsafe work refusal

Unsafe work refusal is the right of a worker to decline tasks that they believe could endanger themselves or others. The video encourages young workers to exercise this right without fear of retaliation, as a means to prevent accidents and uphold safety standards.

💡Supervisor and employer responsibilities

Supervisor and employer responsibilities highlight the duty of these individuals to provide a safe working environment, including proper training, equipment, and addressing reported hazards. The video points out that many accidents occur due to the negligence of supervisors and employers in fulfilling these responsibilities.

💡Shared responsibility

Shared responsibility in the context of workplace safety implies that all parties involved, including employers, supervisors, and workers, must work together to ensure a safe and healthy environment. The video calls for a collective effort to prevent injuries and fatalities, emphasizing that everyone has a role to play.

💡Awareness and advocacy

Awareness and advocacy refer to the process of raising consciousness about workplace safety issues and promoting proactive measures. The video serves as an advocacy piece, urging young workers to be aware of their rights, to speak up about safety concerns, and to take action to prevent accidents, thereby honoring the memory of those who have suffered due to workplace incidents.

Highlights

In Ontario, young workers between the ages of 15 and 24 experience injuries at an average rate of 42 times a day.

Fatal work injuries are often unexpected and can happen to anyone, as illustrated by the tragic stories of Doug, Matthew, and David.

In 2000, 17,897 young Canadians were fatally injured at work, and 60,000 more were injured in Ontario.

The lack of awareness and understanding of risks contributes to the high number of injuries and fatalities among young workers.

Young workers are 54% more likely to be injured per hour worked than those over the age of 24.

Employers, supervisors, and workers share the responsibility for health and safety in the workplace.

Legal rights and training are available to protect workers from potential hazards and unsafe work practices.

Workers have the right to refuse work that they believe is unsafe without fear of reprisal.

The Occupational Health and Safety Act protects workers who raise safety issues from dismissal or discipline.

Young workers in high-risk industries, such as forestry, need to be aware of their rights and responsibilities for health and safety.

The importance of speaking up about health and safety concerns and not waiting for others to make the workplace safer.

The need for honesty about one's knowledge and skills to ensure personal and co-workers' safety.

The availability of health and safety organizations that provide information, consultation, and training to workers.

Ontario's Young Worker Awareness Program provides valuable information to protect the health and safety of young workers.

The program's website offers resources to understand rights and responsibilities, emphasizing the importance of health and safety.

The call to action for young workers to prioritize health and safety at work to honor those who have lost their lives.

The reminder that no job is worth the risk of injury or death, and the importance of using the law and common sense to prevent accidents.

Transcripts

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we want to talk to you about people

between the ages of 15 and 24 who get

injured and lose their life on the job

injuries of one kind or another happen

to Young workers an average of 42 times

a day in Ontario so you may have already

heard about it

or maybe you haven't heard anything or

maybe you did hear something and You'

figured had nothing to do with you or

your job or your life when you think of

someone getting fatally injured on the

job site you don't tend to think of that

person being someone just like us you

don't think of a 20-year-old guy named

Doug who was cleaning the inside of a

cement mixer when the power suddenly

turned on you don't think of Matthew who

was 19 years old whose head was crushed

by a strapping machine in a sawo you

don't think of David who was 18 and just

at a high school when he was drawn into

the moving Blades of an industrial

cookie dough

mixer Doug Matthew and David all had

plans and dreams for their future just

like us the only difference is their

plans and dreams were destroyed in a

split second we don't want to load you

down with a bunch of numbers but we do

want to pass along a few just to give

you an idea of the size of this problem

the numbers tell a definite story and

you have to remember that each one of

these numbers is a young worker just

like us in the year 2000 in Ontario

17,897 Canadians between the ages of 15

and 24 were fatally injured at work in

1998 60,000 more were injured some of us

got cut cut and bruised and had to take

a bit of time off work some of us lost

our arms our legs our eyes 57 of us lost

our lives that year if 57 Canadian

soldiers were killed in action in one

year it would be front page news from

coast to coast yet you probably didn't

hear much in the news about Doug David

or Matthew or any of the other young

workers who lost their lives that year

probably none of them were fully aware

of the risk they face the way that

soldiers are and certainly none of them

got a medal after they died the way that

soldiers do why does this keep on

happening over and over why aren't the

sudden violent deaths of these young

Canadian workers a bigger

deal well we could tell you but you're

probably not going to like the

answer we're all partly to blame that's

right all of

us it's a fact that thousands of young

workers are injured get sick or die on

the job site every year yet most of us

start at a job without ever thinking

that the work we do and the way we do

the work might be putting our lives in

danger Call it Courage call it lack of

experience call it Blind Faith in our

own judgment and physical health it just

does to occur to us that we could leave

for work one morning and never come home

but that can happen to us right well it

can and it does again and again and the

young workers it's happening to were

probably just as surprised about it as

we would be if it happened to us Matthew

had been working at The Sawmill for

about 3 months the day that he was

fatally injured Matthew's co-workers

described him as an intelligent and

enthusiastic worker that morning the

pressing device on the strapping machine

got stuck when Matthew went to go look

under the pressing device to see why it

wasn't coming down on the stack of wood

it suddenly came down there was no

safety guide around the machine and no

one had locked it out before he went up

that morning Megan was 17 and working at

a plant in manufacturers filters the

punch press she was using one morning

wasn't properly guarded she lost the

tips of three fingers

she's back at school now encouraging

other young workers to ask questions

about health and safety especially if

they're working with unfamiliar

Machinery it's simple mathematics that

the younger you are the bigger part of

your life you have to lose if the

unthinkable happens in the province of

Ontario the unthinkable happened

279 times between 1993 and 2000 that's

how many people died of work-related

injuries and illnesses in those eight

years the total number of Canadians who

were fatally injured at work in that

same time period was

6,282 that's more than twice the number

of people who were killed in the World

Trade Center attacks on September 11th

2001 another three Canadians will lose

their lives on the job today assuming

it's an average day for dying on the job

whenever someone is injured gets sick or

dies on the job it's because one or more

persons did not take the risks seriously

enough a lot of those risks have as much

to do with the way the work is being

done as with with the kind of work

that's being done employers and

supervisors aren't the only ones who

don't take every reasonable precaution

to protect workers many workers

themselves also don't take the risk

seriously yet they're the ones who stand

to lose the most by a simple

miscalculation by themselves or their

bosses either they don't understand the

degree of danger they haven't been told

about it or they just ignore it whatever

the reason the result is the same and

it's why young workers are 54% more

likely to be injured per hour worked

than those work workers over the age of

24 health and safety on the job is a

shared responsibility it requires the

teamwork and cooperation of employers

supervisors and workers everyone has to

pull together to make the workplace safe

and healthy it's a tragic fact about

fatalities on the job that the cause of

death was usually plain and simple and

so were the things that could have been

done by employers supervisors and

workers to keep that person from being

fatally injured putting an end to

injuries illnesses and deaths in the

workplace is not some pie in the sky a

goal that cannot possibly be reached a

lot of the time it's just a matter of

being aware of the risks of being

trained to assess those risks and of

making sure the work is done in a way

that reduces the risk every job has

risks whether it's summer or year round

young workers like us need to be aware

of our rights and responsibilities for

health and safety if that means finding

out about legal requirements before we

start the job it's definitely worth it

our health and lives are too precious to

be left entirely in the hands of other

people because of the equip involved and

the working environment many Forest

industry occupations have a higher than

average level of risk young forestry

workers need to know how to assess the

risk of the work they

do you need to know that you are

entitled by law to receive training from

your employer about all potential

hazards as well as safe work

practices you need to know that you have

a duty to report any suspected hazards

or unsafe work practices to your

supervisor you need to know that you are

legally entitled to refuse work if you

think it could endanger you or your

co-workers injuries illnesses and deaths

can be eliminated from the workplace to

help make that happen don't ever

hesitate to ask questions about any

health and safety problems or procedures

at work don't wait for your boss or

anyone else to make the workplace safer

start that process

yourself if you don't feel you've been

properly trained for the work you're

being asked to do speak up don't pretend

you know more than you actually do about

your work environment or any particular

work task your safety depends on being

honest with yourself and others about

what you know and what you don't know if

you think the work you're doing

jeopardizes your safety or the safety of

others speak up you have the right to

refuse work that you believe is unsafe

without any fear of reprisal from your

boss the occupational health and safety

act prohibits employers from dismissing

or disciplining a worker because that

worker has raised a safety issue or try

to make sure that act is enforced if you

don't know the risk level of the work

you're doing speak up ask more

experienced co-workers or your

supervisor for information and advice on

how to do the work safely always listen

to your own doubts and clear them up

before you do anything else if you see

someone working in a way that's

dangerous to them or their co-workers

speak up there's absolutely nothing cool

about horseplay or careless and

dangerous work practices it's against

the law to work or operate equipment in

any way that could endanger yourself or

others by reporting that kind of

activity you could be saving someone's

life including your own

if you see a piece of equipment or

Machinery that doesn't seem to be

working right speak up you have a

responsibility to report all workplace

hazards to your supervisor or employer

if you feel the problem is not being

dealt with properly speak up tell a

health and safety Committee Member or

your health and safety representative

about your concerns that's one of the

ways you can fulfill your end of the

shared responsibility for workplace

health and safety another way is by

using the protective equipment you've

been given and by working the way you've

been trained

to if you need help to work safely speak

up on top of whatever safety training

and orientation you receive at work

there are a lot of health and safety

organizations out there that can give

you information consultation and

training you can find them on the web or

you can call them don't hesitate to make

use of these resources that's what

they're there for Ontario's workplace

safety and insurance board created the

young worker awareness program to give

students and other young workers the

information they need to protect their

health and safety at work the program's

website has lots of valuable information

that helps us understand our rights and

responsibilities check it

out no job is worth being injured or

dying for too many young workers have

died and been injured without speaking

up well it's time to speak up for them

and for ourselves by making health and

safety our number one priority at work

remember the best way we can honor those

young people that never came home from

work is by doing everything in our power

to prevent the same thing from happening

to us the law and our own Common Sense

tell us to do that let's do it let's

speak up for young worker health and

[Music]

[Applause]

safety

yeah