In the wake of a recent inquiry into the death of an Alberta feedlot worker, an Alberta NDP MLA wants the province to cover farm workers under the same safety rules that govern non-farm workers.
Rachel Notley said labour laws should be changed to reflect the new realities of Alberta farms.
“The days of the mom-and-pop farm with a handyman helping out are gone,” Notley said.
“Many farms today are industrial workplaces. Their workers deserve the same protection under the law that other industrial workers enjoy…. There are hazards on the farm and many workers don’t have the benefit of growing up on the farm.”
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She referred to the death of a southern Alberta feedlot worker 11 months after he was hired.
Judge Peter Barley, who led an inquiry into the death of Kevan Chandler at Tongue Creek Feeders, had also suggested farm workers be covered by the same Occupational Health and Safety rules as other businesses.
“It was pointed out that many farms are family run operations, part home and part workplace,” Barley wrote in his report.
“Since a non-farmer working at home is not covered by the Occupational Health and Safety Act, it was felt by many farmers that they should be exempt for the same reason. No logical explanation was given as to why paid employees on a farm are not covered by the same workplace legislation as non-farm employees.”
Alberta is one of two provinces where workplace safety standards don’t apply to farms.
Barley also recommended Alberta Agriculture establish training programs for farmers to address ways to minimize the risk of hazardous activities, with a system to record training received by employers and employees.
Three department employees are designated to educate 50,000 farmers about farm safety. In contrast, the province’s employment department has 84 occupational health and safety inspectors to monitor 140,000 non-farm employers.
During the inquiry, Laurel Aitken of Alberta Agriculture’s farm safety branch said the emphasis was on education, particularly targeting children.
Chandler died while cleaning a 90-foot-high grain silo at Tongue Creek Feeders near High River, Alta. Grain stored in the silo a year earlier had stuck to its walls and fell on Chandler while he was in the silo.
Eric Jones, a retired farm safety expert with the department, recommended that a committee of experts set up standards that farmers would enforce.
