The The British Columbia Workers' Compensation Agency , operating as WorkSafeBC , is a legal institution that emerged in 1917, after the provincial legislature enacted a law passed in 1902. The law this is known as Workers Compensation Ac t.
The WorkSafeBC Mandate includes workplace and occupational injuries prevention, which WorkSafeBC completes through education, consultation and law enforcement. It conducts workplace inspections and investigates serious incidents such as death. The Workers Compensation Act authorizes the creation of British Columbia's Occupational Health and Safety Regulations.
The WorkSafeBC Authority for worker health and safety does not include:
- Mining, which is under the authority of the British Columbia Ministry of Energy and Mining
- Federally regulated employers, who are under the authority of the Federal Employment Program in Canadian Work and Social Development
WorkSafeBC is an exclusive worker's compensation insurance company in British Columbia, Canada, which includes over 200,000 registered entrepreneurs and 2.3 million workers.
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Working Conditions in British Columbia before Workers' Compensation
There are many Royal Commissions that have examined the effectiveness of Workers' Compensation. The Commission has sought to explain working conditions prior to the Workers' Compensation law in which British Columbia workforce is largely occupied in the fishing, logging, and mining industries. The Royal Commission concludes that documented injuries are limited, with the exception of mining, and therefore little is known about working conditions prior to the Work Compensation Act (WCA). One line of the Royal Commission document reads, "There is no source to reveal the conditions of the nineteenth-century workplace in two significant B.C. industries, agriculture and fisheries." However, this argument ignores the injury documentation in Canneries 'initial Workers' Compensation document. Although the Workers' Compensation Document does not provide direct reports on working conditions before the law, the documents do provide incidents that occur in the workplace. More precisely, the injuries documented in Workers 'Compensation documents can be extrapolated as similar, if not identical, injuries until the period preceding Workers' Compensation in 1917. For example, injuries in the fishing industry, controlled mostly by Canneries, including finger strains, muscle strains, wounds, infections, burns, and more. Many of these injuries can be prevented and occur prior to the introduction of the WCA and subsequent regulations. Preventable defects are evident in some Workers' Compensation letters urging entrepreneurs to follow new and existing safeguards. Employees are also aware of unsafe working conditions because litigation is the primary means of seeking compensation. Employees believe that employers are responsible for compensating for their inability to work. Employees often believe that because they are injured in the workplace, injury and compensation is the responsibility of the company to pay. Furthermore, employee comments are often noted, "unsafe conditions, long working hours, and unhealthy working conditions."
Working Conditions in the Fishery Industry
The fishing industry in relation to the booming Canning industry becomes tied up in terms of income and ultimately inventory. At the beginning of the Canning Industry depends heavily on First Nation fishermen. Historian Douglas Harris argues about the pre-existing fishing rights of the First Nation people and of the importance of fishing for many of the First States on the coast. Furthermore, people who are knowledgeable and competent in many aspects of fishing provide fish for canning. Finally, with the capitalist tendency, canning begins to hire and equip more Japanese fishermen as a means of cheap labor. Working conditions in the fisherman's perspective seem pretty good. Fishermen often feel greater freedom in their work in the responsibility of maintaining their boats, greater number of options compared to other jobs, outdoor experience, and escape from the type of factory work. In canning, housing and employment are separated by race and gender. Chinese men, usually, fill and slaughter fish. However, this occupation is slowly becoming obsolete with degrading innovation and implementation, "Iron Chink" or in more correct terms, "Iron Butcher". Dangers include cutting knives, fingers sandwiched or crushed in case of a machine, and pieces of fish and subsequent infections. First Nations women are responsible for cleaning fish. Initially this was done in a large basin filled with cold seawater and then through a mechanization process involving a conveyor belt. Cold water and repetitive movements are involved in clearing mucus fish and guts that are made for conditions that are not entirely pleasant. Injuries may consist of back strains, wrist strains, infections, and repetitive motion sickness. Housing conditions are also relevant to workplace conditions in the canning industry as most employees live in the workplace. The North Pacific Cannery, one of the canons operated at Skeena Inlet, and now the National Historic site, reveals racial segregation. Japanese houses are at one end of the canning, the First Nations housing on the other side, the European housing in between, and the remains of Chinese housing show that they are farthest from the main cannery factory. The Japanese, Chinese and First Nation homes are all composed of single rooms that are not very spacious. In the case of First Nations, as they often carry their entire family, it is common to have 6 or more people in a one-room house. European management houses, by contrast, are much bigger and nicer. In general, the workplace in canning, which includes housing, does not offer the same opportunities. Furthermore, workplace conditions in canning are not always fun, especially in terms of housing.
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Prior Legis Workers' Compensation
Error with Coworkers Assumed by workers from the usual risk of work Employee Negligence on the part of the worker This defense, in practice, causes employers to win most cases and employees are left without adequate compensation. The general law makes it too easy for employers to avoid paying compensation. By the defense of "Employer's Errors" the employer can not be held liable if an employee can be found guilty in part. Likewise, "Assumption by workman of defense" of the job "allows entrepreneurs to claim that there are certain risks employees receive by taking a job, and therefore the employer can not be held accountable. Finally, "Negligence Contribution on the part of workers" defense allows for a condition where if an employee can be found at least on mistakes the employer will find irresponsible. There is also an inconvenience for colleagues of employees to testify for their colleagues under the fear of the impact of their employers. Understandably, such outcomes, especially in support of employers, create anxiety. Employees have low prospects of obtaining compensation from employers through litigation. However, since litigation is the only way to receive compensation, it is still highly attempted. In 1897, the Employers Obligation Act was established seeking to resolve conflict and increased lawsuits between employees and employers. However, the Employer Liability Law is very limited to the beneficiaries, only persons aged 21 years or older who are railroad workers or manual workers. However, the Act allows eligible to claim up to $ 2000, though it is later downgraded to $ 1500. In general, the creation of the Employers Obligations Act is beneficial but not applicable to the majority of the workforce. For example, most cannery workers are not eligible to use the Act and will therefore continue to use litigation as a means to try compensation. The Employers Liability Act does not solve the issue of employee riots or busy courts. Employers also began to feel uncomfortable because the British Columbia economy suffered and a lawsuit could cause significant debt.
src: victoriabuzz.com
Workers Compensation Acts
Workers' Compensation Act 1902
The subsequent implementation after Company Acting Obligation 1897 is 1902 Workers' Compensation Act. This action is basically better for the employee because it imposes compensation for the wounded worker (s) even if the worker is slightly wrong. More precisely, the 1902 Workmen's Compensation Act will allow the employee (s) to receive compensation unless they are too careless. The new WCA allows more workers to qualify. The WCA now includes miners, factories and construction workers. It further enables the arbitrators to limit the large number of cases that the court has to undertake. Although more people could benefit from the 1902 WCA, it still does not benefit loggers and some other industries. Because the WCA still needs a court, or arbitrator, processing is still very slow. In 1916 a document entitled "The Pineo Report" suggested that British Columbia should follow the example of Ontario and apply the administrative council. The report confirms that the industry should, in particular, be responsible for accidents. The report also suggests that efforts made to obtain compensation for employers should be shared in an effort to prevent workplace incidents. The report's suggestion is made important as the Workmen's Compensation Act, with new arbitration options, does not appear to be effective in reducing litigation. Instead, the evidence shows that after the 1902 WCA the court became increasingly busy.
Workers' Compensation Act 1917
In 1917, another act was ratified known as the Workers Compensation Act 1917 which responded to the problems handled by the "Pineo Report". Not surprisingly, preventing incidents at work and allowing compensation is the value that WorkSafeBC delivers today as discussed by the "Pineo Report". By the method of compromise the 1917 measures include regulations for medical assistance. The regulation allows finances to be collected from employees at a fixed rate per day while the employer will bear all unpaid expenses. In short, the WCA of 1917 set the framework whose amendments will be made giving us the WorkSafeBC we have today.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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