WSIB SAYS IGNORING WORKPLACE INJURIES A RECIPE FOR DISASTER
Toronto, ON -- In 2006 in Ontario, 101 workers lost their lives due to traumatic injuries. In 2007, the number was already 73 at the end of October.
February 1, 2008 | By MRO Magazine
Toronto, ON — In 2006 in Ontario, 101 workers lost their lives due to traumatic injuries. In 2007, the number was already 73 at the end of October.
“We hoped our graphic public awareness campaign last year would shock people into action to decrease the staggering number of workplace fatalities,” says Steve Mahoney, chairman of Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB). “This isn’t happening quickly enough, so this year we’re raising the bar even higher with ads that will strike an emotional chord with the people of Ontario.”
With the launch of its newest social marketing campaign, the WSIB continues its bold approach to raise workplace safety awareness. The theme — There Really are No Accidents — is intended to drive home the message that workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities are unacceptable, intolerable and 100% preventable. However, the graphic and frightening nature of the television ads is known to offend some viewers, thus diminishing the impact of the program, according to a Halton health department employee who has viewed several of the ads.
“I didn’t apologize for our ads last year and I certainly won’t this year,” says Mahoney. “We won’t stop until every person in every workplace, worker and employer alike, takes responsibility for workplace safety and spreads the message that zero is the only acceptable number of workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities.”
The campaign includes television and radio commercials, print ads, transit shelter and outdoor ads, Internet advertising and a customized website — www.prevent-it.ca (editor’s note: this website crashes frequently when viewing its movies). In addition to English and French, print and TV ads will also run in many other languages, including Cantonese, Mandarin, Italian, Portuguese, Punjabi and Spanish.
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.