It is every worker's right to go home safe each night, however, there are barriers to that happening for some newcomers to Canada, including in the Sea to Sky Corridor, according to WorkSafeBC.
The organization says that its research shows that employees who have been in Canada for five years or less are much less likely to speak up about workplace health and safety concerns and are less aware of their right to file a claim if they’re injured on the job, when compared with those born in Canada.
WorkSafeBC is the provincial agency responsible for workers' compensation, preventing work injuries and insuring employers.
The agency’s research shows, for example, that an average of 50% of Chinese language-speaking workers felt they had to tolerate health and safety risks to keep their job, and 30% feared that speaking up about unsafe conditions could harm their reputation, .
‘From day one’
The agency is launching a campaign to spread the word to newcomers that "all workers have the right to a safe workplace—from day one on the job—and are covered by WorkSafeBC insurance regardless of their immigration status or term of work," the release states.
WorkSafeBC's spokesperson, Sandeep Mangat, said the agency often fields calls from workers who are unsure of their rights.
"Sometimes, people are just worried about their status, right? So, 'I'm not a permanent worker here,' or 'I'm here as a visitor, and I just worked two weeks,' [or] 'I don't have legal status,'" he said. "We try to make it clear to people that you're still eligible if you have done bonafide work, even if it's for a day, they're still eligible for a claim. You still have the benefits, similar to anybody who's a Canadian citizen or resident of B.C."
Newcomer workers are more vulnerable because they often don't know where to go and they're scared to speak up, he added.
Some workers may also come from a culture where speaking up to authority is not common, he noted, and they can fear being fired for going to WorkSafe.
It is illegal to fire someone for speaking up.
Report anonymously
"We have a. So, if a worker brings up about a health and safety issue ... or they feel they don't have the adequate training, or they haven't been oriented, [or] they don't have the personal protection equipment for doing that [job], then if they bring that up, they should not have any repercussion as a result of that."
Employees should know they can also report unsafe conditions or abuse anonymously, through WorkSafeBC’s Prevention Information Line at 1.888.621.7233. Non-English speakers will be connected to a translator.
Another safeguard for workers is that WorkSafeBC inspection officers are trained not to raise the specific issue that has been reported with the employer during an inspection.
"Let's say somebody brings up an issue about no first aid at the work site, our officers are not going to come in and hone in on that specific topic. They'll just say, 'I've got a whole list of employers. This Squamish, [fast food restaurant], just happens to be your day," he said.
The inspectors won't come in and ask only about the reported problem, in other words.
Some examples of reporter worker complaints the agency hears about include a lack of first aid, or no hazard assessment done at a work site, or a lack of proper training.
"Somebody is working, let's say, in the sector to do with accommodation—hotels, motels. There might be an issue with working alone or not being supervised. There's also the risk of violence, right? So the violence could come from customers. It could come from staff," he said.
Sectors that see the most vulnerable workers are ones that are common in the Sea to Sky—especially those that hire unskilled or semi-skilled workers.
"Construction is one where we're getting an influx of foreign workers. We are finding it in agriculture, we are finding it also in ... retail business—fast food, some hotels."
Know your rights
The big message is that every worker in B.C. has rights, regardless of where they come from, their status or industry.
Mangat reiterated the rights he hopes newcomers will understand they have.
"The right to refuse unsafe work, the right to be able to participate in health and safety committees and be able to participate in hazard recognition, the right to be oriented properly and be trained. Very important is the right to claim an injury if they are injured at work. Being aware that if you report within 72 hours and you say this happened at work, your claim would be guaranteed as long as we can verify that it's a genuine claim."
He stressed that workers can go to the to learn more. The organization can also converse with workers in 140 languages.
"So don't feel alienated. May it be Arabic or Urdu or Hindi or French or Polish, or Romanian, I mean, we've got the language line that helps out to break that barrier."
The following WorkSafeBC resources are available in multiple languages:
