In October, Work Safe Alberta launched an $850,000 campaign to educate young workers on workplace dangers. After protests over its graphic content delayed its release for a year, the campaign unrolled online, in movie theatres, on buses and on YouTube
by Lindsey Norris
Gore Factor: In one video, a boy suffers hideous burns over his face and hands when a can of cleaner falls into a batch of grease and explodes in his face. The camera films him screaming for so long that you can say, “Oh my God; is his flesh melting?” five times fast before it pans out.
Thumbs Down: The ad’s teenage workers are all either rude or foolish. The Alberta Federation of Labour criticized the ads for placing all the blame on workers’ stupidity and neglecting the employer’s role. (Ontario’s gory campaign shared the blame.)
Two Thumbs Down: The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees criticized the ads for failing “to mention workers’ legal obligation to refuse unsafe work.”
Delayed Debut: The campaign was shelved in fall ’07 after some MLAs objected to the graphic content. But, ultimately, officials decided “edgy” would work with its target audience of 15- to 19-year-olds and released it anyway.
Problem Numbers: The number of workplace deaths in Alberta soared 24% in 2007, jumping to 154 from 124 in 2006. (Figures include fatalities from motor vehicle collisions, occupational diseases and workplace incidents.) Government blamed the flood of new workers to the province. Curiously, the workforce increased only 3.3% in the same time period.
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