Page 7 - Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario

published by the Institute for Work and Health (IWH)
“The principal driving force that guides the Building
Trades’ approach to collective bargaining is a
stalwart commitment to fairness for
construction workers.”
training and to cooperate with Federal and
Provincial agencies promoting the interest of
apprenticeship training.” The joy that Building
Trades workers take in performing their trade
safely, with creativity and skilled precision achieved
through training, is an essential ingredient to the
success of our industry.
What is the relationship between
safety and training in Ontario’s
construction industry?
There is a well-documented causal link between
training and better safety outcomes in Ontario’s
construction industry. A recent peer-reviewed report
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found that lost-time injury claims to the Workplace
Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) are 31 percent
lower on Building Trades construction jobsites
than they are in an environment without worker
representation. The report, entitled “Updating
a Study of the Union Effect on Safety in the ICI
Construction Sector” analyzed WSIB data from
more than 50,000 companies representing 1.7
million workers in the Industrial, Commercial and
Institutional (ICI) construction sector between
2012 and 2018. It also found that claims for severe
injuries are 29 percent lower on jobsites with
Building Trades representation. A major explanation
for the union safety effect that is demonstrated in
the study, is the substantial commitment (financial
and otherwise) to training, which is the lifeblood of
the Building Trades’ business model. The dedicated
resources in terms of physical infrastructure,
training expertise and delivery, including hands-on
training and classroom instruction and mentorship,
contribute to a model of continuous learning that
makes Building Trades construction worksites the
safest in our industry.
Every year, the unionized construction industry in
the province of Ontario invests $40 million towards
training, including apprenticeship training that is
delivered across a network of 95 state-of-the-art
training centres. The estimated total value of the
Building Trades’ training infrastructure is $250
million. These investments are primarily financed
through joint apprenticeship trusts which draw on
hourly worker and employer contributions that are