Your rights

Health and safety

Is your workplace healthy and risk-free? For many young workers, the answer is NO.

Consider these facts:

1. More than half of workplace accidents involving workers aged 15 to 24 occur during the first six months on the job. And almost 20% occur during the first month on the job.
2. Young males under the age of 25 are at the highest risk for a workplace injury in BC; 4 out of every 5 young workers' claims are for young males. The injury rate for young male workers is about 47% higher than the overall injury rate in BC. This means one in every 16 working young males is hurt on the job in our province.
3. One in 45 young females were injured on the job last year.
4. Each hour in BC, 2 young workers are hurt on the job.
5. Each day in BC, 42 young workers are hurt on the job.
6. Every week, five of these workers are permanently injured.
7. In 2001, five young male workers were killed in work-related accidents.

Source - WCB

Now that you know the stats, you need to know how to protect yourself and what your rights are.

All workers in BC have the right to a safe working environment.

You also have the right to refuse unsafe work.

To refuse to carry out unsafe work, you must immediately report the circumstances of the unsafe work to your supervisor or employer. Your employer will then investigate the matter and conclude whether they feel it is unsafe. If there is still a disagreement between the employee and employer, you may choose to contact your joint committee, if you have one on your worksite, or contact your union. If you do not have a joint committee or a union, an officer of the Board must be contacted to investigate the matter.

For more information on Workers' Compensation Board matters, go to www.worksafebc.com.

Employment Standards

If you are not covered by a collective agreement, you need to know your rights under the Employment Standards Act (ESA). The ESA covers things like hours of work, stat holidays and uniforms.

To find out more about your rights under Employment Standards, go to www.labour.gov.bc.ca/esb/.

Human Rights

Here in BC, we all have the right to live in a free society without discrimination of any type.

The Human Rights Code defines discrimination. Discrimination under the Code covers:

Source - www.bchrt.bc.ca

Unfortunately, the Campbell Liberal government has eliminated the BC Human Rights Commission, making BC the only province in Canada without a central body to investigate and mediate complaints of discrimination, educate the public about their rights and responsibilities under the Human Rights Code, and promote understanding and compliance with the Code.

For more information on human rights, go to www.bchrt.bc.ca.