ACA Commends the Removal of Red Tape Created by Joint Worksite Committees

On Friday December 13, the Alberta government announced it would do away with the requirement for health and safety committees at multiple worksites for some industries. ACA commends the government for this first step as joint committees have not shown improvement in safety while creating a whole new level of red tape to administer.

Alberta is the second safest province according to comparisons of lost time claim rates in Canada. Our record of safety is ahead of Saskatchewan, BC and Manitoba and other provinces that mandate joint health and safety committees.

Our industry has continued to pursue evidence based safety procedures that protect workers and create a safety conscious workforce. The focus on worksite committees has shown little to no difference in building on that goal.  Indeed, joint committees could well weaken the principle of internal responsibility, in which each and every worker and supervisor take action now, rather than passing issues off to a committee to be dealt with at a future time.

ACA represents 3000 member firms in commercial, industrial, and Institutional construction industry across Alberta. Construction employs one in ten working Albertans.