• SCOTT PATTERSON lost both legs in an ice auger accident in 1982. Many plants are still unsafe.
Ice augers are still unsafe
August 14. 1982. The Adams River sockeye were running strong and the plants were plugged.
For most shoreworkers. the day has blended into hundreds of others where the long grueling hours turned into days with no rest and finally, a few decent pay cheques. For Scott Patterson, the day will always be remembered as a nightmare which started
Shore Plants
Jim Sinclair
when he slipped into an unsafe ice auger and ended hours later lying in a hospital bed. his lower body missing.
For the young Cassiar shore-worker, the terrible power of the ice auger will be a memory he will carry forever. Augers also kill people. Central Native Co-op employee Barry Farrant and B.C. Packer shoreworker Robert Par-ton were killed by the slow moving steel auger that takes the ice to the boats. Larry Hagen and David Allen were also mangled.
These accidents occurred because the augers were not covered by grates screwed into place. They weren't screwed down because it's faster to get rid of the ice when you can shove the big pieces right into the auger rather than throwing it out the door. The real truth is that shore-workers in many plants, like Scott Patterson, were (and continue to be) trained by foremen and other workers to lift up the grates and risk their lives.
The union did a great deal in
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1982 and afterwards. We lobbied the Workers' Compensation Board and they promised action. New regulations were made up by WCB. We made a film, wrote articles and many of us thought we had the problem beat. Now it appears nothing could be further from the truth.
Recent WCB inspections show-that companies such as B.C. Packers. J.S. McMillan Fisheries, Ocean Fisheries and B.C. Ice are still running unsafe augers. And those are only the ones where the WCB has inspected and written orders.
The other day I looked out a lunch room window, over the heads of a half a dozen young new employees and spotted an open auger on a gangplank.
The same day a worker reported that when he complained about an open auger at his company, the foreman said it had to be open so the hard chunks of ice could be put in. Sound familiar?
For four years an overhead auger was open in one plant and finally the company fixed it after the union complained. But why did it take four years? ' As I sat down to write this, a shoreworker reported they were sent to the ice room for the first time. When they entered they saw an open auger. The foreman assured them it was safe and wouldn't come on. The auger was turned on.
It would be both right and easy to blame the companies and the WCB for this situation. The companies want the right to make the profits but they also have the legal responsibility to make the plant safe.
The companies allow the situation to continue in part because it means that production is faster. If screwing down the grates increased production, the grates would have been screwed down long ago and welded shut. Those who took them off would have faced discipline.
The WCB inspections in the
fish plants have been poor to say the least. No one inspector is assigned the fishing industry so no one person understands the issues that are specific to our industry and where to look for problems.
But blaming the government and the companies will not make any of us feel better if another shoreworker suffers a terrible accident.
The job of keeping ourselves healthy and safe falls ultimately to us. Those new kids in the industry who don't know any better are our kids. The people maimed and killed are our co-workers.
When you finish reading this, get up and go find out if the grates are screwed down properly on the auger and it's safe. I Some canneries also have augers for taking away offal. I If they are not screwed down, shop stewards should take the issue up immediately with the company. (It takes only a few seconds to lose your legs and just a tad longer to lose your life. I
No one should work with an open auger. If you are assigned to work in a room with an open auger you are obligated to refuse this work. It doesn't matter if it's your first day on the job and you don't want to rock the boat . . . it could also be your last day on earth.
Inform your foreman and shop steward of this fact immediately. The company should thank you for your prompt attention and fix it. None of us want to be the one to phone the family.
There is no grey area on this issue. The auger is only safe if it is covered by grates bolted in place (WCB regulations 16.20 and 16.44).
The tradesman that fixed the auger after Scott lost his legs commented that it only took a couple hours and 50 cents worth of bolts to make it safe. The bolts arc probably worth a buck now how much is vour life worth?
Union demands changes in roe popping methods
Roe poppers are three times more likely to develop hand and wrist injuries than the general population, and the UFAWU wants to see changes in place for next year's popping season to prevent further injuries.
Union shoreworkers and staff representatives met August 13 with the Fish Processor's Association and the U.B.C. authors of a study into roe-popping injuries released last month.
The study found that up to 52 percent of workers studied developed Carpal Tunnel Syndrome when using high stress techniques to pop herring. It suggested changes to work methods, workplace design and work pacing could reduce injury.
"The union's objective is to work towards changes in the plants for the 1991 herring season.'' said shoreworker organizer Jim Sinclair. He says that a survey is being prepared for workers at the J.S. MacMillan plant in Vancouver to ask shoreworkers there what they thought of the changes made at MacMillan prior to the 1990 herring season and what workplace changes they recommend for next year.
"We're planning to present the -findings of this study to the Worker's Compensation Board to compel them to accept Carpal Tunnel Syndrome as a work related injury." Sinclair said.
The union negotiated study was co-sponsored by the association and the UFAWU.
The union, the association and the investigators agreed to a further meeting in October where the research team headed by Dr. Robert Brubaker would present its findings.
Judy Village, an ergonomics specialist who released a study" for the joint committee on repetitive motion injuries in Dec. 1989 will be present as well.
The Village study recommended changes in the plants for roe-poppers which included the use of less stressful methods to pop roe, adjusting heights and reaches to suit individual work-
ers, raising temperatures and earlv reporting of injuries.
The W.C.B. is preparing a new set of occupational health and safety regulations,and UFAWU safety director Alanna Lantela is preparing a submission of recommendations from the union.
"Some of the companies have instituted changes in the plants as a result of the repetitive motion injury studies, and the W.C.B. draft regs spell them out even more clearly," Lantela said.
Some of the new W.C.B. regulations state that when a worker's job endangers the safety of the worker, an employer must:
• modify work procedures or equipment to reduce physical demands on affected body areas.
• provide proper fit where hand or arm protective equipment is required.
• schedule work to permit safe adjustment to unaccustomed task requirements.
• establish exercise regimes for affected body areas.
Lantela will be preparing a draft of recommendations on such things as control of ammonia in the plants, towmotor use, repetitive motion problems and ergonomics in the workplace.
Individuals in the U.B.C. study who wish to know their personal results may contact Dr. Robert Brubaker at 228-6752.
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• JACKIE BUCHANAN demonstrates roe popping methods for study.
Salmon pack down
Current Production
Domestic From
Production U.S. Salmon
Aug. 11. Aug. 11,
1990 1990
Cases Cases
(48 lbs.) (48 lbs.)
Current
Season Total
Aug.11. 1990 Cases
(48 lbs)
Comparison comparison
With Previous With Previous
Years Years
Aug. 13. Aug. 16.
SOCKEYE Final
Total to date
COHO Final
Total to date
PINK Final
Total to date
CHUM Final
Total to date
115.091 29,230 144.321
26,120 1,097 27,217
19.. Cases (48 lbs.)
206,346 157,847
24,618 9,706
334,490 13,721 348,211 736,318 625,657
50,462 5,694
56,156 214,927 49,115
19_. Cases (48 lbs.)
622,245 171,642
85,401 31,092
970,521 585,065
266,526 108,139
TOTAL ALL SPECIES
Final 529,579 49,799 579,378 1,185,931 1,951,812
Total to date 843,871 899,412
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THE FISHERMAN / AUGUST 20,1990 • 9
