On April 1, 2021 at 16:49, SWOInstaller said...
This is crazy to me. If you don't have a hard hat and safety boots (steel toe and shank) there's no point of showing up. Our Ministry of Labour will sit in their vehicles and take photos of guys not wearing proper ppe or doing something stupid and will bring the evidence with them when they come with their ticket book. They also don't just ticket the person that was not complying, this person will get the smallest ticket, the site super gets the next ticket, the guys company gets the next ticket and the site company gets the final ticket, with tickets ranging from $100 up to $25,000.
That's where our governments differ, we spend most of our tax dollars on our military and other bloated programs. That means a lot less money being spent on things like OSHA, health care, education, and the like. Add to that the fact that every state, county, and city have their own codes/laws and their own budget issues, that doesn't leave much for code enforcement most of the time.
It isn't our healthcare that is affected (although I'm sure it is to a point). Every business has to pay into WSIB (workplace safety insurance board) and this is where the payouts come from for the person on disability or their medical bills (our health care isn't free, it's just paid for in our taxes). They payout millions each year on preventable "accidents" which increases premiums and the price. From my last training session (about 3 years ago) they pay out more from accidents happening working off a ladder (step or extension) than from all the big commercial/industrial accidents combined and most of these accidents include deaths.
OK, nothing in life is really "free", but if you break a leg and go to the doctor and get it fixed, does he send you a bill? Do they check on your ability to pay the bill first? Here, if you walk into the emergency room with a non-life threatening injury, before they will see you, they will insist on a means of payment, insurance or credit card, either work.
So here, if a guy falls off of a ladder and has a minor break or major sprain, something non-life threatening, he goes to the hospital with no cc or insurance, they won't see him unless it's a city/county/state hospital, and there aren't too many of those around.
However, you say the contractor should have workman's comp insurance? You are correct, but that doesn't happen all too often because people are cheap. The customer went with the lowest bidder. How did that guy get his bid down so low? He doesn't have insurance, he has unskilled laborers, he uses cheap parts, whatever he can do to get the job and make a dollar.
Enforcement against these guys? See above.
