Health-care unions called on the province Monday to implement workplace-safety certification for the sector with the highest rate of injury in Manitoba.

According to Manitoba Workplace Injury and Illness statistic reports from 2017-21, there were nearly 14,000 injuries serious enough to warrant time off that affected health-care workers.

This means the health sector has the highest injury rate — nearly five workplace incidents for every 100 health-care workers — than any other major industry sector.

Ensuring all public health-care facilities are SAFE Work Certified could improve that rate, Manitoba Federation of Labour president Kevin Rebeck said.

“Over the past decade, many sectors, including construction, manufacturing and trucking, have achieved a significant reduction in workplace injuries through signing on to Safe Work certification programs. In the same time frame, there’s been zero progress in health care,” he said.

“In addition to the financial and other effects on workers and their families, the injuries health-care workers are suffering at work have serious effects on our health-care system, overall.”

Because of the high rate of injury, millions are spent on workers compensation premiums that could be better invested in services, he said.

Health-care premiums cost an average of $1.25 for every $100 of payroll, 30 per cent higher than the average Workers Compensation Board premium.

“In addition, injuries cause staff shortages that increase the work and stress of an already-overburdened workforce. It erodes patient care, it drives up overtime costs and adds the difficulty of attracting and retaining workers,” Rebeck said.

Data show that industries with required SAFE work certification experienced a decline in workplace injuries from 2011 to 2021. There was no change in health care, however.

Health workers have established the Manitoba Association for Safety in Health Care, which will work with the province to facilitate the progress to bring safety certification to health-care providers, Rebeck said.

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Rebeck was joined by union leaders representing support workers, nurses, paramedics, 911 dispatchers and other health-care providers, all of whom said certification would improve their members’ quality of work.

Manitoba Nurses Union president Darlene Jackson said the injuries her members face on the job can be violent and often have lasting effects after the worker returns to the job.

“We’ve been hearing from our MNU members that they are consistently experiencing more incidents of violence in the workplace,” she said.

“Our members are telling us that they are tired of working in deteriorating working conditions.”

malak.abas@winnipegfreepress.com

Malak Abas
Reporter

Malak Abas is a reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press.

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