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WCB funds new prevention projects and announces priorities for 2007
WINNIPEG – In its ongoing efforts to make Manitoba workplaces safer, the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba (WCB) announced the latest funding recipients of its Community Initiatives and Research Program (CIRP) today. These eight groups will conduct projects that focus on preventing workplace injuries/illnesses, returning injured workers to health and work or promoting the special needs of workers suffering from occupational diseases.
The CIRP provides up to $1 million annually to fund projects focusing on injury and disease prevention, safety in the workplace, treatment of workplace injuries, support for injured workers and their families, and research into scientific, medical or other issues related to workers compensation. Since the inception of the program, approximately 67 percent of the funding has supported workplace prevention, education and training initiatives.
“The CIRP proactively helps develop a culture of safety in Manitoba,” says WCB President and CEO Doug Sexsmith. “With the support of the WCB, our partners in the community are developing several innovative methods to make our workplaces safer.”
Sexsmith adds that the projects funded through the CIRP are good examples of the workplace safety movement spearheaded by SAFE Work and SAFE Manitoba. “At the WCB, we believe that SAFE Work should be a way of life.”
One of the new grant recipients is Safety Services Manitoba, who along with the International Centre of Winnipeg is developing the Manitoba Immigrants’ Safety Initiative.
“Immigrant workers and their employers have unique safety issues, and with the help of the WCB we intend to provide the resources needed to make the workplace safer for those workers,” says Mike Waite, Executive Director of Safety Services Manitoba.
A past grant recipient, Red River College, has seen their Occupational Health and Safety Certificate Program grow since they first began in 2005. Currently, 100 percent of their graduates have already found jobs in Manitoba.
“We have been able to provide Manitoba workplaces with Health and Safety Practitioners who have the knowledge and skills necessary to help make workplaces safer,” says RaeAnn Thibeault, the Dean of Red River's School of Continuing and Distance Education.
Since the CIRP was launched by the WCB at the end of 1997, 108 innovative projects have been completed or are still in progress. The CIRP aims to enhance the understanding of workers’ compensation issues and to minimize the human and financial impact of workplace injuries and disease.
The WCB has also released its priorities for the 2007 CIRP funding. The WCB will accept funding requests for projects that apply innovative approaches to preventing workplace injuries or illnesses; identify hazards and prevent injuries for at-risk youth and/or persons with mental or physical disabilities; examine the barriers and facilitators of return to work programs; or increase the knowledge of occupational diseases, their diagnosis and treatment (any additional applications that address the mandate of the CIRP will also be considered).
The deadline for the first stage in the application process is March 23. For more information on how to apply for CIRP funding, visit the WCB website at www.wcb.mb.ca, or call Krista Breckman at 954-4995.
The Manitoba WCB is a mutual injury and disability insurance agency governed by a Board of Directors representing employers, workers and the public interest and funded by employer premiums. The WCB insures approximately 70% of the workers in Manitoba, employed by over 24,000 registered employers.
Contact:
Warren Preece, Director of Communications
WCB Manitoba
(204) 954-4113
2006 WCB CIRP Funding Recipients
Aboriginal Women and Youth in Safety
Agency: Northern Aboriginal Women (Iskwewak)
Funding: $99,660
Purpose: The Northern Aboriginal Women (NAI) will conduct a survey of Aboriginal women to establish their level of awareness and knowledge of workplace safety and health (WSH) practices and legislation. The survey will target Aboriginal women from Thompson and other remote northern communities.
The survey results will help NAI develop a WSH training program targeted at the specific needs of the women from these communities. In the short term, NAI expects there will be increased awareness in WSH among these women as they learn about rights as workers, how to deal with workplace injuries and how to address hazardous risks.
In the long term, the results will be used to identify priority issues and to develop a grassroots model that integrates modern day work practices with traditional work practices in Aboriginal communities. The program developed from this project will be shared with other northern communities.
Effective Early Return to Work: Solving the Gaps in the Case Management Function
Agency: Brandon Regional Health Authority (BRHA)
Funding: $82,932
Purpose: BRHA will address key gaps in their current Return to Work (RTW) program. A co-ordinated approach for RTW programs is needed because of the aging workforce, the high incidence of complex musculoskeletal injuries and the need for consistency in patient care. Over a one year period, the existing BRHA Ergonomic Committee will:
· Partner with the Provincial Health Sector Workplace Injury Reduction Strategy
· Consult with other RHAs on their disability management programs to develop best practice guidelines
· Model an early RTW program taking into account the factors identified in the report on Workplace Injury Reduction in Health Care (May 2006)
· Perform Physical Demand Analyses for key positions within the BRHA
In the short term, BRHA expects better matching of an employee’s physical capabilities with the job requirements, and improved knowledge and attitude of all key stakeholders about early RTW programs.
In the long term, BRHA expects disability claims to trend downward by type, duration and job classification, along with a decrease in compensation costs.
Crane Awareness Course
Agency: Operating Engineers Training Institute of Manitoba Inc. (OETIM)
Funding: $90,000
Purpose: A four-hour Crane Awareness Course will be offered by OETIM to educate and increase the awareness of those who work with or around cranes. The course aims to instill workers with the knowledge to safely work among cranes. OETIM will offer the training to approximately 1000 people with each attendee receiving a handbook on crane awareness.
The project will help create safer working environments, especially for younger, more inexperienced workers.
Development and Implementation of Health and Safety Groups for Rural Workplaces in Manitoba
Agency: MFL Occupational Health Centre, Inc. (MFLOHC)
Funding: $173,900
Purpose: MFLOHC will develop and implement Health and Safety Groups in up to four rural Manitoba communities with an emphasis on workplace health, safety and ergonomics. This project will provide Health and Safety Groups with resources to undertake self-audits of their health and safety program. The project will take two years and will be divided into three phases:
Phase I: Develop a model for Health and Safety Groups in rural Manitoba based on current formal and informal groups, the needs of rural communities and experiences from other groups in and outside of Manitoba. Ergonomic services will be provided, including training, education and technical resources for identifying, assessing and controlling ergonomic hazards.
Phase II: Organize community-based Health and Safety Groups in up to four rural communities and provide them with resources and activities to develop sustainable and successful groups.
Phase III: Provide the Health and Safety Groups with resources and training to develop and improve their health and safety program and address their high priority health and safety issues.
This project will benefit Manitoba workplaces and workers by developing several community-based Health and Safety Groups, providing direct and indirect resources for developing a sustainable health and safety program and providing ergonomic services to address and prevent musculoskeletal injuries.
Injured and Disabled Workers’ Centre
Agency: Injured Workers Association of Manitoba Inc.
Funding: $98,452
Purpose: This Centre supports injured workers following the termination of their WCB benefits, or following the decision that an injury is not compensable. The Centre helps injured workers and their families understand, cope and adapt to injuries and post-injury issues, which can be physical and psychological. The assistance includes client counseling and referrals to appropriate community programs. The Centre also assists injured workers who wish to appeal the WCB’s decisions, including the presentation of their own appeals, and helps injured workers make informed decisions, take control of their situation and foster a healthier return to work. Ultimately, these services aim to improve an injured worker’s sense of healing and self-worth.
Manitoba Immigrants’ Safety Initiative
Agency: Safety Services Manitoba (formerly Manitoba Safety Council (MSC))
Funding: $198,700
Purpose: The Safety Services Manitoba proposes to develop a workplace safety and health (WSH) model for existing and new Manitoba immigrant workers and their employers. This model will be used to build a sustainable Manitoba Immigrants’ Safety Initiative (MISI) to address the unique needs of immigrant workers, their employers and a variety of community stakeholders.
Safety Services Manitoba will deliver workshops and distribute health and safety resources to immigrant workers and workplaces in Winnipeg and six rural areas.
The initiative is designed in four phases over two years with the MSC as the lead organization in partnership with the International Centre of Winnipeg.
This project will benefit immigrant workers by decreasing workplace injury, disability, disease and death, and benefit employers by reducing costs.
Minerva SAFE Manitoba
Agency: Manitoba Labour and Immigration, Workplace Safety and Health Division (WSHD)
Funding: $50,000
Purpose: The WSHD, through Minerva SAFE Manitoba, provides opportunities for post-secondary institutions to incorporate occupational health and safety into the core curricula of business, engineering and other post-secondary programs. During the next two years, WSHD will work with rural post-secondary institutions such as Brandon University, Assiniboine Community College and the University College of the North.
The benefits to Manitoba employers will be long-term as graduates from the participating post-secondary institutions, future managers, supervisors and workers demonstrate a better understanding of the principles of occupational safety and health.
SAFE Workers of Tomorrow Health and Safety 2006/2007 Program
Agency: Workers of Tomorrow Safety Centre Inc.
Funding: $149,444
Purpose: This program’s primary focus is to educate students and young workers on their rights as Manitoba workers, and to help them prevent workplace injuries and illnesses by assessing risks and recognizing hazards. Numerous presentations and training programs will be made to high school students by a volunteer speakers’ bureau consisting of health and safety experts and young workers who have experienced workplace injuries.
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