Deaths, injuries, work-related illnesses, risk to life and limb are not part of the job. No family should suffer a lost loved one. No worker a debilitating injury or illness at work. No workplace should bear the loss. When all Nova Scotians believe every workplace injury or illness can be prevented – and when prevention is engrained in every workplace culture – Nova Scotians will be safe at work. A culture of workplace safety is growing in Nova Scotia. It must be nurtured and expanded until all Nova Scotians are aware of and care about the safety performance of their workplace and work to improve that performance. Everyone should feel safe at work. Nova Scotia has many examples of workplace safety excellence.
Unfortunately, it has as many examples where risk and injuries are “part of the job.” Tragedy at sea, for instance, should become part of Nova Scotia’s history.
Nova Scotia is a safer place to work today than 10 years ago. Workers’ compensation claims declined 18 per cent and the number of time loss injuries fell about 30 per cent over the past decade. But Nova Scotia still lags other Canadian jurisdictions and is in the middle of the pack in most workplace injury measures.
Some still see workplace safety as a cost. Safety leaders report the opposite. Safety pays, through less time lost, but more importantly, through increased productivity, enhanced morale and loyalty. A safer province is a more productive and prosperous province. Over the next decade, the nature of work in our province will change. New economic developments like the shipbuilding contract, changing demographics and new technologies will bring new challenges but also new opportunities to improve workplace safety.
Click to learn more about Nova Scotia’s strategy for workplace safety!
Together, we can keep care providers safe, healthy, and caring for Nova Scotians. Learn more at safecareconnection.ca
