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EDMONTON - Two men are dead after farm machinery they were transporting came in contact with an overhead power line Thursday evening.

Occupational Health and Safety sent investigators out to the accident, but they left shortly afterwards without conducting a full investigation. The deaths happened on a farm, and farms aren't covered under Alberta's workplace safety laws.

Alberta is the only province in Canada where farm workers are not covered in some capacity by workplace legislation.

Minister of Employment and Immigration Thomas Lukaszuk said agriculture is an unusual industry where home life and the workplace meet.

"It's an industry where often there is no payroll," he said. "It's an environment where people actually live."

He said that makes it difficult to enforce OHS laws, because you have to sort recreational accidents from work-related ones.

Lukaszuk said he looked at other provinces where such legislation exists and found it's rarely enforced. He said it's more important to get the industry on board with safety practices than to lay charges after injuries or deaths occur.

He said his department is consulting with people at all levels of the agricultural industry to find out what sorts of laws will suit everyone best, instead of putting blanket legislation in place.

Gil McGowan, Alberta Federation of Labour president, called the current lack of protection for agricultural workers outrageous.

"All these arguments about the family farm ring hollow," he said. "There was a time when Alberta's agricultural sector was dominated by small family farms, but that time has passed. The sector is now dominated by large, multinational companies. To say those companies should be given special exemptions because they're small farms is simply ludicrous."

The men who died Thursday were transporting a grain auger from a grain truck on a farm leased by B&R Ranch Ltd. near Meridian Street and Ellerslie Road. The machinery snagged an overhead power line and the men, ages 54 and 62, were electrocuted, police said in a news release.

In a typical workplace fatality, OHS investigators interview witnesses and gather evidence, reconstructing the incident piece by piece. If someone dies while using machinery, a stop-use order is often placed on the machine. Sometimes work is stopped on the entire site.

Once the investigation is finished, officials determine whether the occupational health and safety act was violated, and whether charges should be laid. The resulting employer and industry track records are searchable and available online at http://employment.alberta.ca/apps/er/ERSearch.html.

McGowan said without investigations and enforcement, there's no impetus for farm owners to enforce or adhere to safety standards.

"These ongoing exclusions send the message that farm workers are second-class citizens," he said.

The names of the victims are not being released.

Edmonton Journal, Sat Dec 4 2010
Byline: Conal Pierse

Edmonton - The death of two Edmonton area farm workers is proof that Alberta's workplace safety laws need to be extended to include agricultural workers, says the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL).

"It is simply absurd that investigators from Alberta Occupational Health and Safety were dispatched to investigate the death of these two workers, but had to abandon the investigation and leave the site when they discovered this happened on a farm," says Gil McGowan, president of the AFL, which represents 140,000 workers.

"Today's farms are industrial workplaces just like any other - as this accident involving large equipment and power lines shows," he says.

Alberta remains the only province that maintains 19^th century rules where farm workers are excluded from occupational health and safety laws, as well as legislation governing hours of work and overtime, statutory holidays, vacation pay, the right to refuse unsafe work, being informed of work-related dangers and compensation if they are injured on the job. In the nine years the Alberta government has said it is consulting on how to improve safety for agricultural workers, 160 people have died on farm worksites.

"This is clear evidence, if any more were needed, that the government's decision last week to focus on education and training to improve farm and ranch safety is completely inadequate," says McGowan. "It's time the government acted on the recommendations made by Justice Peter Barley in 2008, while investigating another death, that farm workers be included in Alberta's Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA)."

The government, bowing to the powerful agribusiness lobby, has instead set up an industry dominated advisory council to look into enhancing education and training, says McGowan. "This council will be an industry-dominated joke," he says.

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Media Contact:

Gil McGowan, President, Alberta Federation of Labour @ 780-218-9888 (cell)

 

Two men are dead after an accident on a farm in southeast Edmonton.

Emergency crews responded to the scene at 3:30 am on Friday in the area of Ellerslie Road and Meridian Street where they discovered the bodies of two men.

A grain auger the men had been working on came in contact with an overhead power line, electrocuting both of them.

A neighbouring farmer reported the incident to 911.

The names of the two victims have not been released, but according to police they are 62 and 54 years of age.

Edmonton police are investigating, but say the incident is non-criminal.

The Alberta Federation of Labour says the incident shows that Alberta's workplace safety laws need to be upgraded to include agricultural workers.

"It is simply absurd that investigators from Alberta Occupational Health and Safety were dispatched to investigate the death of these two workers, but had to abandon the investigation and leave the site when they discovered this happened on a farm," Gil McGowan, president of the AFL, which represents 140,000 workers said in a written release.

"Today's farms are industrial workplaces just like any other - as this accident involving large equipment and power lines shows," he said.

Alberta is the only province where farm workers are not covered by occupational health and safety laws, as well as legislation governing hours of work and overtime, statutory holidays, vacation pay, the right to refuse unsafe work, being informed of work-related dangers and compensation if they are injured on the job.

Global News Saskatoon, Fri Dec 3 2010
Byline: Lauren Reid, Karyn Mulcahy

The provincial government is facing criticism from the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL), in the wake of a double-fatal accident in south east Edmonton.

Two men, aged 62 and 54, were electrocuted when the grain auger they were moving hit an overhead power line near Ellerslie Road and Meridian Street. They were found early Friday morning.

The federation's president Gil McGowan points out farmers are not covered under Occupational Health and Safety or the Workers' Compensation Board. He says it's time for change.

"This is an argument that the Alberta government has been making for years, that you, quote, 'can't over-regulate' the family farm," says McGowan. "In reality, most of the people working in the agricultural sector are not working for family farms, they're working for big agri-business."

Even though OHS staff members were called to the scene, they were not able to do their job.

iNews880, Fri Dec 3 2010

There was a time when many Canadians resented being forced to participate in the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), believing they could do better on their own. Two stock market crashes later, that notion is as outdated as Freedom 55.

Since the financial meltdown began in 2007, an increasing number of seniors are living in poverty, underlining the urgency to expand the CPP. As Canadians watch their private savings dramatically fail, reforms to the CPP in the late '90s have proven to work. The plan is well funded at $125 billion, well invested, reliable and sustainable.

The only problem is the payout of 25 per cent for top earners -- up to a maximum of pensionable earnings of $47,200 per year -- is inadequate. That means the most anyone can make on CPP is a little less than $1,000 a month or about $11,800 a year. It's not a lot.

As the baby boomers retire, the stress on the system will only grow, and the discrepancy between those who have properly planned for retirement, and those who have not, will become more pronounced.

Increasing the CPP premiums and payouts is the fairest way of easing the burden on tax-funded subsidies for low-income retirees, such as the guaranteed income supplement. Make no mistake, the CPP is not a payroll tax. It is mandatory savings. You only get what you put into the plan. Any reforms to increase contributions and benefits would be phased in over 40 years, so that only those who have fully paid the increased premium would fully benefit from the payout.

Expanding the CPP is not a new idea, and was first recommended by a task force in 1979. It is now back on the table, after Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and all provincial finance ministers except for Alberta's Ted Morton, agreed in June to a "modest, phased-in and fully funded enhancement to defined benefits under the Canada Pension Plan."

By contrast, a major increase in the benefit -- up to 50 per cent -- is being proposed by a number of people and organizations.

They include former CPP chief actuary Bernard Dussault, Simon Fraser public policy researcher Jon Kesselman, the author of Expanding Canada Pension Plan Retirement Benefits: Assessing Big CPP Proposals; and Gil McGowan, the president of the Alberta Federation of Labour.

The three met with the Herald editorial board recently and presented a compelling argument for doubling the CPP benefit, which we endorse. The CPP already covers almost all Canadian workers and thus spreads the risk and management fees. It is fully portable, offers guaranteed income to all retirees, and is the only risk-free investment broadly available to workers. Private RRSPs and employer pension plans have proven much riskier than initially billed. Those who are in company pension plans are likely in a defined contribution scheme, where the amount that goes in is predetermined, but the payout is based on how well the fund is invested and ultimately performs. Nortel workers know only too well how that worked.

Employers and employees would both be better served by paying more into CPP and less into a company plan. Employees could leave after a few years without losing their pension benefits, reflecting the more transient reality of today's workforce, where it's the exception instead of the norm that a career begins and ends at the same place.

Alberta's opposition is a throwback to outdated thinking, with regards to individual choice and financial flexibility. Those Canadians who want to retire in comfort will still need more to live on than the CPP.

But by raising the standard of living for all retirees, today's taxpayers are saved from shouldering the burden of tomorrow's seniors living in poverty. In the long run, it ensures people pay their own way; a truly Conservative value that should be embraced by the Alberta government.

Calgary Herald, Sat Nov 27 2010

Edmonton - A crisis in retirement income is looming in Canada and Albertans will be among those hurt the most - unless there's real reform of the nation's pension system.

"Albertans have the lowest retirement savings in Canada," says Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL). "By 2030, 67 per cent of Albertans will not have enough for a dignified retirement. Currently, 31 per cent of Albertan seniors live on less than $16,000 per year today."

"Albertans are less likely to be covered by an employer pension plan than other Canadians - and those with pension coverage are likely to have inferior coverage compared to other Canadians. Only 38 per cent of Albertans contributed to an RRSP in 2008, and the median contribution was only $3,200 per year," he adds.

Because of the clear need for action on the pension crisis - and with Canada's finance ministers due to discuss pension reform in Kananaskis, Alberta, next month - the AFL and the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) will hold a summit in Edmonton on Saturday, November 27^th, and will bring in some of the country's leading pension experts to discuss pension reform. Participants in the summit, Pension Reform or Poverty: How to Solve Alberta's Retirement Crisis, include:

• Bernard Dussault, former chief actuary of the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (1992-1998). He is the author of a bold proposal for a universal pension plan that has won national attention;
• Dr. Jonathan R. Kesselman, a professor at Simon Fraser University's School of Public Policy and Canada Research Chair in Public Finance. He is the author of a research paper released by the University of Calgary that has become extremely influential in the national pension reform debate;
• Gil McGowan, President of the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL), which represents 140,000 workers. Earlier this month, the AFL launched a campaign for real pension reform, urging Alberta to abandon its opposition to CPP expansion;
• Hassan Yussuff, Secretary-Treasurer of the CLC, which represents 3.2 million workers. The CLC has led a national campaign to expand CPP;
• Paul Moist, National President of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), Canada's largest union with 600,000 members. He has led his union's campaign for solutions to the pension crisis.

Time: 10:00 a.m., Saturday, November 27, 2010

Location: Grant MacEwan University, Main Floor Multi-purpose Room, 106th Street Building, 10700 - 104 Avenue, Edmonton

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Contact:

Gil McGowan, President, Alberta Federation of Labour    Cell 780-218-9888

The Alberta government announced on Tuesday the creation of a new farm safety advisory council, but the move was immediately panned by those who believe the government has already waited too long to enact legislation to protect agricultural workers.

"No matter how they try to dress it up, this announcement proves the government of Alberta is not willing to stand up for the rights of agriculture workers," said Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour.

However, Agriculture Minister Jack Hayden said the new advisory council, with representation from safety organizations, municipalities, agricultural organizations and workers themselves, will examine a number of options -- without overregulating or increasing the financial burden on small farm operations. Primarily, the council will look at farm safety education and training, and recommend an action plan to government.

"We need to have the primary producers and the people who are actually in the industry tell us what is going to be the most effective, so that at the end of the day we're not complicating peoples' lives, we're saving them," Hayden said.

The minister said one of the issues the advisory council will look at is whether some agricultural operations should be covered by provincial occupational health and safety legislation if they are primarily a "commercial or an industrial operation, and not an actual primary producer operation."

But McGowan argues it's now large agribusiness that dominates the farm industry -- and needs solid workplace safety rules -- not small family farms.

Last year, 13 Alberta farm workers died on the job.
Alberta is the only province in Canada that exempts farm operations from worker safety laws.

Provincial court Judge Peter Barley took exception with this exclusion in his January 2009 fatality inquiry report on the 2006 death of farm worker Kevan Chandler at Tongue Creek Feeders near High River.

"No logical explanation was given as to why paid employees on a farm are not covered by the same workplace legislation as non-farm employees," Barley wrote in his report.

Barley recommended that paid farm workers, excluding family members, should be included in legislation governing workplace safety.

The judge's recommendations prompted the government to order a consultation on farm safety, hiring Camrose-based Stroh Consulting to canvass farm organizations and other business groups.

That consultant's report, released by the agriculture department on Tuesday, found that farming is one of the riskiest occupations in Canada and organizations representing workers "say their members feel unprotected and demand some changes."

It also found agriculture is a rapidly changing business, with challenges including employee retention, and language barriers in employing some foreign workers.

The report makes a number of recommendations, including for the government to research what is being done in other provinces, and consider including contractors "carrying out non-agricultural work on farms" under the province's occupational health and safety legislation.

Richard Truscott of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said he is encouraged by the direction the government is moving in, but hopes the advisory group includes actual farmers.

"It's important they hear directly from farmers themselves," Truscott said.

The members of the advisory council will be determined in the new year, government officials said.

Calgary Herald, Wed Nov 24 2010
Byline: Kelly Cryderman and Renata D'alisio

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) is fighting to save Canada Post jobs from being outsourced - and you can join that battle.

The Crown Corporation announced earlier this year that it would outsource its contact centres and the National Philatelic Centre, resulting in the elimination of more than 300 jobs across the country. The affected locations are in Edmonton, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Antigonish and Fredericton.

Richard Deslauriers, the National President of PSAC component, the Union of Postal and Communications Employees (UPCE), said this move will bring Canada Post closer to a complete privatization.

"The privatization of Canada Post has always been an objective of the current management and the conservative federal government," Deslauriers said. "The slippery slope of partial privatization of services will end up with Canada Post in the hands of private companies and Canadians will be deprived of a service they have relied on for decades."

Robyn Benson, the PSAC Regional Executive Vice-President for the Prairies, said: "This obsession with privatization will badly damage the quality of the Canadian postal service as well as the communities it serves. Many regions in the country will lose local contact with Canada Post as well as jobs that are important for the local economy."

For Benson, the privatization of Canada Post's answering services also raises the question of protection of confidential information provided by Canadians.

"I'm not sure that Canadians are ready to see their postal service become an information collection agency for the American government,' Benson said. "If an American company answers calls for Canada Post, then the U.S. Patriot Act gives the government access to all information the company collects. Is that what Canadians want?"

You can help save jobs from being outsourced and save communities from suffering a drop in service. Please print this petition and get as many friends and colleagues to sign it, then return to the PSAC Edmonton office. The more voices that Canada Post hears, the more likely that privatization can be halted.

Edmonton - The Alberta government announcement that it is forming an advisory council on farm safety is a stab in the back for all farm workers, says the Alberta Federation of Labour.

"Once again, the government has chosen to waste a real opportunity to improve working conditions on farms and ranches," says Gil McGowan, president of the AFL, which represents 140,000 workers. "Once again, the government has chosen to listen to the agribusiness lobby and ignore the voices of working people, of safety advocates and even a provincial judge."

The move to create a council to advise the government on how to "enhance farm safety education and training" is an empty gesture. The government says the council will be co-chaired by industry and government, but no leadership role is given to workers or their advocates - the people whose lives are on the line.

"This council will be an industry-dominated joke. Following on Employment Minister Thomas Lukaszuk's refusal to act on recommendations to increase minimum wage, it shows just how little the minister is willing to do for our most vulnerable workers. Much like Energy Minister Ron Liepert's advisory committee on energy policy, it shows who really calls the shots in this province - big-business pressure groups," says McGowan.

Alberta remains the only province that maintains 19^th century rules where farm workers are excluded from occupational health and safety laws, as well as legislation governing hours of work and overtime, statutory holidays, vacation pay, the right to refuse unsafe work, being informed of work-related dangers and compensation if they are injured on the job. In the nine years the Alberta government has said it is consulting on how to improve safety for agricultural workers, 160 people have died on farm worksites.

In 2008, after being asked by the Premier to investigate the workplace death of Kevan Chandler, Justice Peter Barley recommended that farm workers must be included in Alberta's Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) to prevent future workplace injuries and deaths.

"Rather than take that obvious and simple step, we have an industry-dominated advisory body looking at education measures! It is completely inadequate and an absolute failure by the province to protect agricultural workers," says McGowan. "This is what you get when governments talk only to the business community and not to workers."

The government claims that work-related protections, such as employment standards and occupational health and safety rules, will punish family farms. That argument is not based on fact. Large agribusiness dominates the industry. Farms with income over $250,000 accounted for three-quarters of farm cash receipts in 2007.

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Media Contact:

Gil McGowan, President, Alberta Federation of Labour @ 780-218-9888 (cell)

Morton's fiscal update shows government gearing up for severe cuts despite what Albertans want

Edmonton - Today's fiscal update shows the government of Alberta is laying the groundwork for a round of severe cuts to health care, education, and social services.

Though private sector forecasters are calling for robust economic growth for Alberta in 2011, the government of Alberta appears to be painting as grim a financial picture as possible.

"Clearly, the agenda for Conservative Finance Minister Ted Morton is to find ways to justify cuts to health care, education, and social services," says Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL), which represents 140,000 workers.

"No matter what the actual economic data tell us, the province clearly has a plan for aggressive layoffs and cuts to services," continues McGowan, adding that government is already in the process of slashing $240 million from government operating budgets. He adds that, when it comes to spending on core government programs, the government is increasingly offside with the wishes and priorities of ordinary Albertans.

"While the government preaches cuts and austerity, the people are telling Conservative pollsters that services are more important than deficit reduction," says McGowan. He was referring to a recent poll done for the Progressive Conservative Party convention, which found that two-thirds of Albertans preferred investments in health care and other services to "deficit elimination."

The AFL also questioned the government's assertion that the financial picture is nothing but doom and gloom. For example, private-sector forecasters are calling for at least 3.5-per-cent growth in 2011; oil, gas and bitumen prices are precisely on the forecast targets; oil and gas futures markets show upward trends; and land sales - a key indicator of the oil and gas industry's exploration, development and production intentions - are as swift now as before the recession.

At the same time, the government of Alberta has failed to invest in the economy to ensure the rebound is lasting and accomplishes the most important goal - job creation. Full-time job growth has stagnated in Alberta; employment gains have been almost exclusively in part-time jobs.

"While other places invested in people, Alberta cut more than 300 public-service jobs. When other provinces invested in job training to get people back to work, Alberta cut job training budgets by $23 million. When other provinces and the federal government invested in economic stimulus, Alberta did nothing," says McGowan. "It should come as no surprise that our recovery has been slow when the province has done precisely the opposite of what it should have been doing to guide the economy out of recession."

Click here for backgrounder.

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Media Contact:

Gil McGowan, President, Alberta Federation of Labour @ 780-218-9888 (cell)