Virtual moment of silence for 140 people killed on the job in B.C. in 2019

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VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — More than two workplace deaths were recorded in British Columbia each week in 2019, according to WorkSafe BC.

The numbers come as the province marks it’s 35th annual Day of Mourning, which began in 1984, three years after four men fell 36 stories to their deaths at the Bentall Centre, in downtown Vancouver.

The annual gathering on April 28 outside the Bentall towers brings families who’ve lost people to workplace deaths together, to call for better regulations and employer responsibility. But, this year, mourning will have to take place from a distance.

Jessica Kruger became a paraplegic after a workplace incident at 15 years old, and regrets seeing the memorial event forced online by COVID-19.

“It’s such a tragedy to not have these ceremonies we are so accustomed to,” she says.

“The experience of going to those places and seeing the faces of the families who have been impacted by losing a family member in the workplace is a different experience than trying to just think about what it means,” she says of the Day of Mourning.

Kruger fainted and fell off of a 20-foot ladder about 12 years ago. She says she wasn’t even aware of any danger at the painting job she had just started and she feels lucky to have lived, now warning others to take their safety seriously.

Others have not been so lucky, including more than a dozen municipal firefighters exposed to toxic substances at fire scenes and 30 general construction workers.

Overall, asbestos, lung cancer and mesothelioma (lung disease associated with asbestos) killed 48 workers in B.C. last year. (396 over four years).

Transportation, construction, metal work and mining, and firefighting are among the most dangerous industries by the metric of workplace deaths.

“I’ve seen the way my own family has grieved the loss of just the ability to walk in my life, so I can’t even imagine what these families are going through,” says Kruger, who used to speak with youth about their own safety, rights and responsibilities on the job.

“[The dead] ended up losing their lives because something happened in a way that ultimately, they weren’t protected. It’s a constant battle for everybody to protect themselves and it’s a constant battle for me to see situations where people are in workplaces where maybe something isn’t being done quite right.”

With COVID-19 the latest deadly threat workers, especially those considered essential, are facing, Kruger says she is thinking about those at risk and wants people to know they can speak up and demand a safe workplace.

“For me, I didn’t really understand that what I was doing had any inherent risk in it,” she says, adding as a 15-year-old worker, she didn’t understand how much responsibility she had to keep herself safe.

“People think they can’t ask questions and they can’t make demands in regards to their own safety and that’s just not the case,” Kruger says.

Given how many people have lost their jobs since the beginning of shutdowns, some people may be less likely to speak out for fear of losing already fragile work. There are also concerns over many essential workers not being supported with social distancing at work and a lack of masks and gloves.

“Half the time businesses are struggling just to figure out how to stay open,” warns Kruger, adding though it may feel like a burden, bringing your own hand-sanitizer or gloves could be what saves your life.

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