Dear editor,On behalf of the Campbell River Courtenay and District Labour Council, I am writing to remind your readers that April 28 is the National Day of Mourning for Workers Killed and Injured on the Job.The Day of Mourning is an opportunity to honour those workers who have died as a result of accidents or occupational diseases, or have suffered injuries, and commit to improved workplace health and safety to prevent further deaths and injuries.Over the last two decades in Canada more than 15,000 people lost their lives to workplace accidents and tens of thousands more have been injured and disabled. The vast majority of those deaths and injures could have been prevented.Ideally, workers will take responsibility for following occupational health and safety practices and refusing unsafe work. In practice,however, this can be difficult, particularly for those who are young, inexperienced, and working in non-union settings.Grant’s Law is a WorkSafeBC regulation that was named in honour of Grant DePatie, a young gas station attendant killed on the job while working alone in Maple Ridge. At the time of its introduction, the regulation was considered among the best in Canada.The regulation required employers in businesses such as gas stations and convenience stores to either have two employees working together or, if an employee was working alone, to have the door locked and have money and goods exchanged through a window between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.As of April 15, this regulation has essentially been revoked and workers, who are often young and poorly paid, will once again be working alone late at night with no protection other than a security camera and a panic button.During a recent liquor store robbery, a young female employee was working alone and was robbed. When she used the panic button, she discovered that the call was routed to her employer, who was asleep in bed. Needless to say, this did not afford her any protection.On the National Day of Mourning, our Labour Council joins the family of Grant DePatie and the B.C. Federation of Labour in calling on the Minister of Labour and WorkSafeBC’s Board of directors to reverse the decision and do their jobs — to protect vulnerable workers, not lower safety standards because of a strong business lobby from employers who do not care for the safety of their employees.Anne Davis,CourtenayEditor’s note: Anne Davis is the first vice-president of the Campbell River Courtenay and District Labour Council.

Comox Valley Record