No WorkSafe penalties in first week of Phase 2 reopening

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VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — The devil is in the details when it comes to following WorkSafe guidelines set out for businesses reopening in British Columbia under Phase 2 COVID-19 restrictions, says the Vice President of prevention services, Al Johnson.

“So in some workplaces you’ll see them going above and beyond the guidelines, in other places, you’ll see them just meeting the guidelines,” he says, explaining it depends on what kind of challenges the business is faced with.

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WorkSafe BC requires all employers to have a six-step safety plan and relevant information posted for staff and visitors. There were no pre-inspections conducted before Phase 2 but WorkSafe is conducting inspections now, as well as accepting tips from the public.

Johnson says 6,500 workplace inspections have taken place since March resulting in 300 orders but over the last week, 500 inspections lead to zero orders as WorkSafe focuses on education and businesses have been open to feedback.

“Our primary focus is catching the employers ‘doing it right.’ That’s really what we want to do,” says Johnson. “So education and consultation is certainly our first approach right now with respect to COVID.”

“If an employer isn’t using the materials out there, isn’t putting a COVID safety plan in place, isn’t involving or orienting business does not improve within a few days or training their workers as they’re supposed to, then we can step it up,” he says.

If a business doesn’t comply with an order in time, it can lead to sanctions, penalties, fines and even partial or full closures.

“We don’t want to get there, we want to see them doing it right, we want workers to feel safe … but we always have the ability to go in that direction, for sure,” says Johnson.

RELATED: B.C. will check on open businesses, ensure health orders followed: labour minister

New online resources have been a big draw and are helping businesses navigate new guidelines, which were developed through consultation with labour groups, employers,

‘Employers and workers are out there using this information,” he says, adding “Employers really want to do the right thing and that’s what we were hoping for.”

He acknowledges every building, job, location and situation requires unique accommodations and everyone is still learning what those look like in reality as customer traffic increases.

“The Devil’s in the detail with our guidelines as well,” he says. “Sometimes we show up to a worksite and they haven’t done this or they haven’t done that … we work with them to tease through those things. Sometimes workers say ‘Maybe we should do a little bit more.’ and we provide that to the employer.”

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