Ontario greenhouse and other agriculture workers are at great risk — experiencing higher lost-time injury rates than any other Schedule 1 sector over the last six years, according to a WSIB report.
Data tells us that most of these injuries occur as a result of contact with equipment or exertion, but the numbers alone cannot express the day-to-day realities of greenhouse workers. The truth is, these workers are afraid of falling.
New approach
“The good news is that injury rates in this sector have declined over time; however, they still lag behind others,” according to Dean Anderson, strategic adviser of agricultural initiatives at Workplace Safety and Prevention Services (WSPS) in Toronto.
“You could chalk this up to a general lack of awareness to health and safety risks and obligations, but I believe it’s more a result of how we approach prevention.”
So, in an attempt to get different results, a different approach was taken.