Canada Seeks Zero Tolerance After Scaffold Tragedy

Safety blitz of scaffolds not enough, activists say: Only a public inquiry – not just a scaffold safety blitz – will get to the root problem of unsafe labour practices in the province's underground economy, labour leaders say. On Wednesday, the labour ministry announced the mid-January start of a safety blitz after four men fell 13 storeys to their deaths from a suspended construction platform on Christmas Eve. Inspectors will not give companies prior warning before visiting to check for hazards involving suspended platforms. The inspectors will have a zero-tolerance policy for non-compliance. The review will take 90 days. Labour activists welcome safety inspections but they argue the problem here is deeper than safety issues. Even though the blitz was announced in advance, inspectors will not reveal when sites will be targeted.
The Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario will hold a news conference Thursday at Queen's Park to call for a public inquiry and discuss issues surrounding the scaffolding fatalities. "This accident is just the tip of the iceberg of the growing underground employment in the construction industry," said John Cartwright, of the Toronto and York Region Labour Council. "Because of (the workers') precarious employment they would never feel they could raise the safety issue." Ontario Federation of Labour president Sid Ryan wants a criminal probe into the deaths of the four migrant workers. Ryan says Attorney General Chris Bentley should step in. "We would like to see you take more seriously the provision in the Criminal Code of Canada that gives your office the power to lay criminal charges if an employer causes death or serious harm due to negligence," Ryan said in a letter to Bentley, dated Dec. 31, 2009.

The OFL represents more than one million workers in Ontario. On Dec. 24, five workers fell from outside a 13th-floor balcony at 2757 Kipling Ave., an apartment building complex just south of Steeles Ave. W., when the scaffold they were on suddenly snapped in half. Four of the men died. The fifth man, Dilshod Marupov, 21, clung to the equipment briefly before falling. He suffered broken legs and a shattered spine and is the only survivor, recovering at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Killed instantly were Fayzullo Fazilov, 31, of Uzbekistan; Aleksey Blumberg, 33, of Ukraine; Alexander Bondorev, 25, originally from Latvia; and Vladimir Korostin, 40, originally from Uzbekistan. The legality of the employment status of some of the men involved in the Christmas Eve accident is unclear.
Metron Construction president Joel Swartz previously told the Star Metron "does not discuss personnel matters or personal information with anyone outside the organization." On Oct. 20, five work orders were placed against Metron Construction at the adjacent building at 2737 Kipling Ave. However, there were no orders issued regarding the swing stage on that site on that date, according to Tom Zach, a labour ministry spokesperson. The swing stage involved in the fatalities was not at 2757 Kipling Ave. when labour ministry inspectors where there in October, he said.
For labour activists, this accident is reminiscent of the Hogg's Hollow disaster, where five Italian Canadians working under dangerous conditions were killed in March, 1960, while building a tunnel at Old York Mills Rd. and Yonge St. "It looks like we've come full circle," Cartwright said.
Labour Minister Peter Fonseca expects to see a report on the safety blitz in 90 days. Then, decisions will be made on what further steps should be taken. However, a spokesperson for the labour ministry said it will wait for a coroner's inquest and then review the recommendations before any decision on a public inquiry. Under Ontario law, if a fatality happens on a construction site, an inquest must be held, said Cheryl Mahyr, a spokeswoman for the Office of the Chief Coroner. Labour inspectors will also begin a heightened enforcement campaign targeting fall hazards at construction sites this month. In 2008, a similar blitz resulted in 336 projects being temporarily halted.

Ontario launches construction site blitz - Inspectors will check for hazards involving suspended platforms: Beginning mid-January, Ontario Ministry of Labour inspectors will begin an enforcement blitz checking for hazards involving suspended platforms and fall hazards at construction sites. "We want to ensure that Ontarians are safe at their workplace and these actions we're taking serve as a reminder that safety practices must be followed when working above the ground. I have asked for a report back in 90 days, at which time decisions will be made on what further steps will be taken," said Minister of Labour Peter Fonseca. As part of regular inspections, Ministry of Labour inspectors will look for compliance with fall protection requirements, including appropriate fall-related equipment and adequate worker training. Inspectors will have zero tolerance for non-compliance, said Fonseca. The most commonly used suspended work platforms (suspended platforms or suspended scaffolds) are known as swing stages. They are used for window cleaning or conducting repairs to the exterior of buildings and consist of a work platform, guardrails and a suspension system.

The most significant hazard associated with swing stages is workers falling from height. Some of the reasons why a fall may occur include:
• the swing stage over-turning because the counterweight does not have the adequate weight or if the “fulcrum” or point of support at the edge of the building fails; or
• the swing stage collapsing because it is overloaded, the platforms are inadequately attached (in case of modular type stages), or there is damage from exposure to chemicals or corrosive material to the motors, platforms or wire ropes to which the stage is suspended, in addition to poor maintenance.

Employers and supervisors are required to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances to ensure the health and safety of workers, including: Proper training - Workers working on a suspended platform or suspended scaffold who may use a fall protection system must receive comprehensive fall protection training and must receive:
• training on the use and inspection of the platform or scaffold, including access to and egress from it
• training on the erection and dismantling procedures where the workers are involved in these activities
Wearing of a fall arrest system when working on suspended equipment

A worker who is on or is getting on or off a suspended platform or suspended scaffold must wear a full body harness that is connected to a fall arrest system with an independent lifeline, or that is securely fastened to the suspended platform or suspended scaffold. Proper design, construction and use of equipment -
The platform must not be overloaded, equipment must be maintained in a condition that does not endanger a worker and it must be used in accordance with any operating manual issued by the manufacturers.
Every suspended scaffold that consists of more than one platform, and every suspended platform that weighs, together with its components, more than 525 kilograms, must be designed by a professional engineer and erected in accordance with the design drawings. A professional engineer must inspect it prior to its first use and issue a written report in regard to the inspection. The constructor must keep a copy of the design drawings and the professional engineer’s written inspection report on the project while the suspended platform or suspended scaffold is on the project.
Adequate maintenance of equipment, materials and protective devices -
Employers must ensure that the equipment, materials and protective devices are maintained in good condition.
Proper inspection of equipment by a competent worker and by the supervisor
Suspended platforms or suspended scaffolds must be inspected prior to each day’s use by a competent worker if it is operated by mechanical power and at least once a week by the supervisor or a competent person appointed by the supervisor.