Each year more Ontarians lose their lives through their job than by criminal homicide.
It’s a sobering thought.
In 2012 the WSIB reported 254 workplace-related fatalities and more than 140,000 injuries in Ontario. Of those 254 deaths, 64 were traumatic fatalities. By contrast, in Ontario there were 161 deaths by homicide in 2011.
Today is the National Day of Mourning for Workers Killed and Injured on the job.
Healthcare is responsible for the second highest percentage (16.9%) of allowed lost time claims among 16 sectors classified by the WSIB. Manufacturing, which has twice as many people covered under WSIB, has a lower rate of lost time claims. Much of these health care injuries are strains and sprains from what are defined as “assisting occupations.” The typical injury within health care is from overexertion experienced by a woman between the ages of 50-54.
While our sector is not known for occupation-related deaths, in 2013 four members of an Ornge air ambulance crew were tragically killed when their Sikorsky helicopter crashed in Northern Ontario. The WSIB notes that transportation-related events are the leading cause of traumatic fatalities.
OPSEU Diablogue 