Province helps kick off Occupational Health and Safety Week

The province and its partners, including the Workers' Compensation Board of Nova Scotia, kicked off North American Occupational Safety and Health Week May 3, at Pier 21 in Halifax.

Similar ceremonies are being held across the province with the theme Safety and Health: A Commitment for Life! How Safe Are You?

"This year's theme asks employers and employees to make safety a priority on the work site at all times," said Marilyn More, Minister of Labour and Workforce Development. "Workplace safety is a shared responsibility and we will continue to work with our partners to make injuries and fatalities on the job a thing of the past."

Safety experts from government and industry have gathered in Halifax to discuss occupational health and safety best practices, programs and issues.

In 2009, there were 32 workplace fatalities in Nova Scotia and 28,089 claims for on-the-job injuries, a decrease of 11.5 per cent from 2008.

"While there are improvements happening in workplaces across the province, we cannot forget the people who died at work in Nova Scotia in 2009," said Nancy MacCready-Williams, CEO of the Workers' Compensation Board of Nova Scotia. "We all share the responsibility of making more positive things happen, and out of respect for these people and their families, and for the safety of all workers into the future, our injury prevention efforts must continue."

For more information on occupational health and safety in Nova Scotia, see www.gov.ns.ca/lwd/healthandsafety or visit worksafeforlife.ca .