VICTORIA— New Democrat labour critic Raj Chouhan is calling on the B.C. Liberals to take workplace safety more seriously, as yet another farm accident has left a worker injured.
This week, it was reported that a worker slipped on a potato harvesting machine at a Delta farm. The worker is reported to be in Canada from Mexico as part of a government sanctioned farm workers’ program.
“This is more evidence that the safety of farm workers continues to be compromised in British Columbia,” said Chouhan. “We have seen too many injuries and I am concerned that we still have people working with unsafe machinery and without adequate protection provided by employers.”
Following the death of three farm workers in March 2007, a coroner’s jury made 18 recommendations into improving safety for farm workers. The Liberal government has failed to implement many of the recommendations, even as farm workers in B.C. continue to suffer from serious injury and death.
“The B.C. Liberals need to take steps to better protect workers, including stronger regulations, improved enforcement and a rigorous program to prevent injuries,” said Chouhan. “Too many B.C. families have lost loved ones to preventable workplace accidents.”
