A new documentary from the Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC) examines the causes and long-term effects of jobsite accidents. Through interviews with victims and family members affected by five separate incidents, Before Day’s End aims to instruct on the importance of following safety precautions on the job.The recently released documentary is relevant to the industry as jobsite fatalities in the U.S. construction sector made up about 17 percent of the 4,547 fatal occupational injuries in 2010—that’s on par with natural resources mining (17 percent) and slightly ahead of goods transportation and warehousing (14 percent). Building construction accounted for 3 percent of the overall fatality figure, while specialty trade contractors accounted for 9 percent. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that fatal work injuries in the construction sector dropped 10 percent in 2010 from the year earlier, and 40 percent from 2006.
CLAC toldThe Journal of Commerce, which covers the western Canadian construction industry, that it wanted the video to tap the human element of a serious topic that deserves a more serious look.
“In any workplace, workers can’t be thinking, ‘That’ll never happen to me,’ ‘This has never happened before,’ or, ‘I’m young and indestructible,’” CLAC communications and marketing director said to The Journal. “Don’t think about yourself, think about your family, your children, your wife, your husband, your mother, father. What’s the impact on them if you aren’t safe?”
