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WorkSafeBC launches graphic safety campaign
Blood and guts help bring home message to young workers.
June 5, 2006 —WorkSafeBC's new Demand Safety campaign, aimed at young workers, is graphic, shocking, and sure to attract attention. And that's exactly the point.
“What young workers told us in focus groups is that they want to see consequences,” says Scott McCloy, WorkSafeBC's director of communications. “They want to understand what can happen to them in a workplace. They want to be shocked.”
Radios ads, posters, and a web site
The Demand Safety campaign has three thrusts: radio ads; posters in bars, restaurants, and at construction sites; and an interactive web site, demandsafety.ca.
The radio spots, which will air on radio stations listened to by youth across the province, are designed to grab young people's attention. Both the radio ads and posters direct listeners to the new Demand Safety web site where they can learn more about the risks young workers face in the workplace, and enter a contest to win a flat screen tv.
The goal
The campaign was born out of WorkSafeBC's strategic plan, which says that WorkSafeBC must and will be a catalyst to change social attitudes, raise awareness, and change workplace behaviour, all in an effort to encourage safe work practices.“What better place to start than with young workers,” says Scott. “We're trying to create a generation that understands what the hazards are.”
Workers under the age of 25 make up 14 percent of British Columbia's workforce, or about 300,000 workers. Every workday in the province, 38 young workers are injured on the job, with 50 percent of injuries occurring in the first six months of work. Last year, 151 young workers were seriously injured.
As shocking as these statistics are, Scott says that they don't necessarily resonate with young workers, who tend to believe “it won't happen to me,” and may sacrifice safety for the sake of a steady income. Demand Safety materials include personal testimonials from young people who have been hurt on the job. These testimonials give meaning to the statistics, driving home the point that every worker is vulnerable. The campaign will also educate workers about their right to demand safety and explain how to speak to their superiors about workplace dangers.
Why now?
Demand Safety is being launched at an opportune time. The vast majority of young workers enter the workforce at this time of year. Along with DemandSafety.ca, WorkSafeBC's Young Worker Centre has a wide range of resources for young workers, parents, educators, employers and other interested parties to help young people and their employers to create safe workplaces.
Says Scott: “No job is worth getting hurt for. Not one.”
Warning
Please be aware that the radio ads, posters, and web site are graphic and disturbing. The posters and the web site show dismembered body parts and the radio ads are gruesome. Viewer discretion is advised.