Tag Archives: Workers’ Compensation Board

MLA calls for fishing industry to have mandatory WCB insurance coverage

After a North Lake lobster fisher was killed this summer, Green MLA Peter Bevan-Baker is pushing for more to be done to compensate injured workers in the P.E.I. fishing industry. “The nature of the job is such that it’s an inherently very, very dangerous situation,” he said Thursday. “I think there’s a limit to how much can be done. I think absolutely we should be doing everything we can to make sure that conditions onboard boats are as safe as they possibly can be.” But when safety procedures don’t prevent injuries or deaths, fishery workers don’t have the same access to compensation as employees in other sectors, he said. That’s because paying premiums into the Workers Compensation Board (WBC) insurance system is optional for fishing industry employers. Bevan-Baker is calling on the provincial government to change that and make coverage mandatory. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:12

New guidelines for boat gear in place after June death of lobster fisherman

New guidelines have been released to help protect P.E.I. fishing crews after a man was killed by a boom on a North Lake lobster boat this past June. Occupational health and safety officials spent months looking into the incident and hope their review will prevent further accidents. The investigation is now complete, but officials have not said whether there will be charges or fines related to the death. The man was underneath a boom being used to hoist out lobster traps when it suddenly lowered and struck him in the head and shoulder.  In July, the Workers Compensation Board released a hazard alert highlighting the possible risks of using booms on lobster boats. Photos, Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 19:38

Workers Compensation Board after fishermen to wear PFDs

Starting Monday, the Workers Compensation Board of P.E.I. will be heading to wharves across the Island to ensure fishermen are wearing personal flotation devices. The visits are part of an education and compliance initiative the WCB started last year. “The fishing industry is a dangerous industry,” said Danny Miller, director of occupational health and safety. “We’ve been focusing on the education, and the recent fatalities on P.E.I. have further reminded us that there’s more work to do.” Four people died in commercial fishing accidents last year in P.E.I. waters. >click to read<10:51

Canadian Workers’ compensation fisheries rate to dive 19%

The Workers’ Compensation Board has reduced its in 2016, citing improved safety measures and awareness. Next year’s rate has been set at $6.51 per $100 of payroll, a drop of 19 per cent from 2015. Last year’s $8.06 rate was the highest for the industry, a direct result of a difficult 2013 when eight people perished in fishing tragedies. Those deaths led to the formation of the Safe at Sea Alliance, and as a result the number of days lost due to injury dropped 34 per cent the following year. Read the rest here 13:10

NSCC School of Fisheries providing education, training and safety

YARMOUTH – When Marcel d’Entremont starting fishing on a fish dragger in 1981,, “My safety training was this: the owner of the boat looked at me and said, ‘The life raft is on top of the house, the immersion suit in the bow is mine. Don’t touch it.’” Read the rest here 09:13

Who Do You Wear YOUR PDF For?!!! Canadian PFD safety campaign targets fishermen

Fishermen are asked to sign a pledge stating “who I wear my PFD for.” “Personal flotation devices increase your chances of rescue and survival. If you don’t wear a PFD for you, wear it for your family,” Sterling Belliveau, minister of fisheries and aquaculture, said in a news release. more@cbcnews 19:29