Quick Links
Customer Centres
Download Adobe Reader for free (required to view PDF files)
Initiatives for Small Business
If you would like to work with WorkSafeBC on health and safety issues, or for more information about health and safety initiatives for Small Business, contact the Small Business Service Centre at .
Health and Safety Guide for New Retail Workers
RETAILERS TEAM UP TO REDUCE WORKPLACE ACCIDENTS Vancouver, October 22, 2003 - They may be fierce competitors in business, but a group of 13 leading BC retailers has come together as allies in the campaign to reduce workplace accidents and injuries among young and new workers in the retail sector. They've pooled their very best health and safety practices into a Health and Safety Guide for New Retail Workers - a practical, down-to-earth booklet released today by Retail Council of Canada, Retail BC and WorkSafeBC. "When it comes to safety there are no trade secrets," said Laurie Lowes, Manager of Health and Safety at London Drugs, one of the companies involved. "Meeting young workers who have been injured on the job and their parents, we felt compelled to do something as retail employers." According to WorkSafeBC, 34 young workers are injured in British Columbia every day. Five per cent of those claims come from the general retail sector. "For many workers retail is their first job," said Kevin Evans, Western Vice-President for Retail Council of Canada. "It's an ideal opportunity to shape safety-conscious work habits, and with this collaborative project BC retailers and WorkSafeBC are providing young workers, their parents and their employers with the learning tool they need." "WorkSafeBC is particularly pleased that these larger-sized retailers with in-house health and safety expertise have come together to share their best practices with smaller retailers who may not have those resources," said Roberta Ellis, WorkSafeBC Vice President, Prevention. Retailers involved in the project were London Drugs, the BC Liquor Distribution Branch, H.Y. Louie/IGA, Hudson's Bay/Zellers, Safeway, Overwaitea/Save-on-Foods, Sears, Home Depot, 7-Eleven, Kerrisdale Cameras, Buy Low Foods, Mountain Equipment Co-Op and Costco. Hard copies of the
Health and Safety Guide For New Retail Workers can be ordered by contacting
Retail Council of Canada at (604) 926-2177, or Retail BC at (604) 736-0368. |
and the BC Retailers AssociationYou can return to the Top of this page