November 18, 2008

Conference Board of Canada

Poor literacy skills threaten worker health and safety, report finds

IAN HARVEY

correspondent

Ignorance is not bliss — it’s downright dangerous.

Halfway into a study looking at the relationship between literacy and workplace health and safety, the Conference Board of Canada has found strong evidence suggesting that those in high-risk sectors like construction are more likely to be killed or injured on the job if they lack reading and comprehension skills.

While companies invest in health and safety training and equipment to protect workers, they aren’t doing much to upgrade their literacy levels, the report’s interim finding suggest.

“Employers spent 10 per cent of training budgets on health and safety training but just two per cent of the budget goes to organizational training, learning and development on literacy and basic skills upgrading,” says Alison Campbell, Senior Research Associate, Organizational Effectiveness and Learning.

“Low literacy skills in the workplace do more than just threaten an organization’s productivity and competitiveness — they also put workers’ health and safety at risk.”

Further, the construction industry spends the least per employee on developing literacy and basic skills, she says.

A conference board report All Signs Point to Yes: Literacy’s Impact on Workplace Health and Safety, is a part of a two-year study that will be completed next year, says Campbell.

So far, the review has been looking at about 30 similar studies to extract data and summarize those reports.

Campbell and her team have also been talking to target groups across Canada to see what is being done and what could be done.

“Obviously some industries are more dangerous than others and require a higher level of health and safety,” she says.

“And we are looking closely at those, such as construction, agriculture, forestry and mining.”

“According to one survey, four out of ten workers lack the basic literacy skills to perform their jobs properly,” she says. “Many don’t know they have the right to refuse dangerous work.”

Literacy is more acute in those who speak English as a second language, but many Canadians struggle with literacy at all levels.

Aside from getting employers to invest in more literacy programs as part of their overall health and safety budgets, some of the proposed solutions could include more multilingual signage and more pictogram-style warning signs.

Alex Lolua, director of government relations at the Provincial Building & Construction Trades Council of Ontario, says the report hits the mark.

“It raises concerns about bringing in temporary foreign workers to fill the gap and how that is going to have and impact on health and safety,” he said.

He said similar studies in the U.S. have found higher accident rates among Hispanic workers because of literacy and comprehension issues.

“The research is clearly suggesting a link and if we’re not careful, bringing in people who have trouble with English could be a recipe for people getting hurt,” he says

The WSIB and the Construction Safety Association of Ontario (CSAO) already provide translation and public materials in multiple languages and do some outreach.

They are also developing a series of pictograms showing workplace hazards and a training program for English as a Second Language in the workplace.

Also in the works are safety material on an audio CD and a PowerPoint presentation with an audio track discussing safety and safety equipment.

Rosemary Sparks, senior director of planning and development at the Construction Sector Council, says the data is starting to prove what was until now an anecdotal connection.

“We’ve been promoting the essential skills program as defined by the federal government, which says things like basic reading, math, comprehension, critical thinking, collaboration and computer skills are the core skills every worker should have,” she says.

The next step is to make a business case so employers can see how an investment in continually upgrading those essential skills among their workers can pay off in terms of a safer workplace and, perhaps, a more productive workforce.

“The challenge is around who is going to pay for it,” she says since literacy has not traditionally been a health and safety requirement.

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