Issued: November 21, 2006

The Intervention Strategy to Reduce Workplace Injuries

No one should be injured or killed at work. “Zero” on-the-job casualties is the goal of Ontario’s workplace health and safety partners: the Ontario Ministry of Labour, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) and the province’s Safe Workplace Associations. Since mid-2004, Ontario has been brought closer to that reality due in part to an intervention strategy that is helping businesses large and small across the province to improve worker health and safety and reduce the number of workers injured on the job.

The goal of the intervention strategy is to reduce lost-time injuries (LTIs--injuries that are serious enough to require time off work) by 20 per cent over four years, by 2008. This would mean there would be 20,000 fewer injuries per year than would have otherwise occurred if there were no intervention strategy.

The strategy is working: In 2004 and 2005, 14,649 fewer Ontarians suffered from lost-time injuries than would have happened otherwise. For employers, it also meant $960 million in costs avoided as the result of the intervention strategy.

Learn more about the intervention strategy by reading our Frequently Asked Questions.

Who and what does the strategy focus on?
What is an at-risk business? How many firms need intervention?
What criteria qualify a firm for intervention?
What data, specifically, does the Ministry of Labour look at?
What is a high-risk firm? What is a priority firm? How does the Ministry treat them differently?
What exactly is the intervention strategy?
What determines that a firm is not/no longer categorized as high-risk or priority?
How do I find out if a firm is among the high-risk or priority firms? How is the firm notified it has been categorized as at risk?
How can I, the employer, get information about my firm’s WSIB history?
How well is the intervention strategy working?
Why is this strategy important?
Where can I get more information about health and safety in the workplace?