NSPI, IBEW Sign Safety Charter

Nova Scotia Power and its unionized employees pledged to work together to keep their workplace safe today, July 6, in Sydney.

"The province is leading efforts to reduce injuries and illnesses in the workplace to make life better for workers and their families," said Labour and Workforce Development Minister Marilyn More. "Health and safety benchmarks show that workplaces are getting safer, but there is still room for improvement.

"Our friends and partners at Nova Scotia Power and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers clearly understand the benefits of making their workplaces safer. We are heartened and encouraged by their success."

Last fall, Nova Scotia Power celebrated several safety milestones, including one million person-hours without a loss time injury in its customer operations and operations teams, and at the Lingan generating station.

"I am proud to sign this charter with our partners at the IBEW," said Rob Bennett, CEO, Nova Scotia Power. "This joint signing symbolizes the fact that our safety performance is the result of working together with our union partners to create a culture where safety is paramount across the entire organization. This commitment is shared by our employees and contractors."

The employer's sentiments are shared by its employees.

"Safety is everyone's responsibility," said IBEW Local 1928 business manager Mike McDonald. "Every worker in the province has the right to a safe workplace and the best way to achieve this is through a shared commitment between the company, union, and every employee."

Last month, a novaknowledge report card said Nova Scotia saw a seven per cent decrease in injury claims to the Workers' Compensation Board in 2009 or twice the national average.

Last year was the first time in a decade that fewer than 8,000 lost time claims were registered with the board.

The amount of time lost to workplace injuries and illnesses in 2009 was 22,000 days lower than in 2008. If the average worker is on the job about 220 days a year, that is 100 years of loss time avoided.

The CEO Health and Safety Leadership Charter is an initiative that was officially launched in April, 2005 at the Industrial Accident Prevention Association Health and Safety Canada Conference. It has received international approval and has been signed by more than 250 organizations; this is the first time that an employer and a union signed the charter at the same time.