[LightStarr]

Robair Robair:

LightStarr LightStarr:

Robair Robair:

BartSimpson BartSimpson:

I say let them dispense with the hard hats so long as they indemnify their employer and anyone else the lawyers can think of for any injuries resulting from the refusal to wear a hard hat.

I agree.

I'm with the workers on this one. It is not a law, it is a new company policy. The've had their jobs for 20 years then one day the company comes up with a new policy saying they now have to wear hard hats.

Sorry, THAT is bullshit.

It doesn't say anywhere that the company just came up with this recently. I assume they just let it slide for awhile and someone outside of the company must have said something to spark it.

Maybe you should read the article.

$1:

They said they haven't worked since November, when their employer brought in a hard-hat-only policy aimed at lowering injury rates in the workplace. Interfor requires the two men to wear hard hats over their turbans.

Read it twice, missed that part. My bad.

[Freakinoldguy]

Robair Robair:

BartSimpson BartSimpson:

I say let them dispense with the hard hats so long as they indemnify their employer and anyone else the lawyers can think of for any injuries resulting from the refusal to wear a hard hat.

I agree.

I'm with the workers on this one. It is not a law, it is a new company policy. The've had their jobs for 20 years then one day the company comes up with a new policy saying they now have to wear hard hats.

Sorry, THAT is bullshit.

I'd like to say I agree with Bart but, in truth, the simple fact is that new safety regulations are put in place to protect the workers.

If these two dissenters get away with defying the regulation, whose to say that any future safety regulations implemented won't be challenged using this as a test case.

The end result could be a complete breakdown of all safety regulations because of personal choice, leading to unending litigation, when some nimrod gets injured on the job because he/she didn't want to follow the new safety rules.

Also just as an aside. I've seen Sikhs wearing small cloth head coverings when they aren't wearing their turbans, so why couldn't these two wear them under their safety helmets and still have their religous requirements covered?

[PluggyRug]

Freakinoldguy Freakinoldguy:

Also just as an aside. I've seen Sikhs wearing small cloth head coverings when they aren't wearing their turbans, so why couldn't these two wear them under their safety helmets and still have their religous requirements covered?

Yep I've seen Sikhs wear those same small cloth caps under welding helmets.

I also have a number of those disposable cotton cloth caps which are used so you don't set your head on fire.

[Newfy]

Freakinoldguy Freakinoldguy:

Also just as an aside. I've seen Sikhs wearing small cloth head coverings when they aren't wearing their turbans, so why couldn't these two wear them under their safety helmets and still have their religous requirements covered?

We have alot of Sikhs in the British Army and they wear combat helmets like the rest of us. They wear a cloth bandana type head covering when they are wearing their helmets but where as we wear berets they wear a turban which is the same colour as our beret, with the appropriate cap badge mounted in the middle of the forehead. I've never heard of any complaints from them.

[Wally_Sconce]

If they don't want to wear hardhats then they should get a job at a grocery store or go drive a taxi.

[LightStarr]

Newfy Newfy:

Freakinoldguy Freakinoldguy:

Also just as an aside. I've seen Sikhs wearing small cloth head coverings when they aren't wearing their turbans, so why couldn't these two wear them under their safety helmets and still have their religous requirements covered?

We have alot of Sikhs in the British Army and they wear combat helmets like the rest of us. They wear a cloth bandana type head covering when they are wearing their helmets but where as we wear berets they wear a turban which is the same colour as our beret, with the appropriate cap badge mounted in the middle of the forehead. I've never heard of any complaints from them.

As bad as it sounds, some people just like to cause shit.

[N_Fiddledog]

Here's a version of the story, other than the one from CBC news.

$1:

The policy, brought in last November amid rising concerns over head injuries at the Delta sawmill, applies to all workers except those in two positions -- apparently the two posts now offered to Sohal and Sahota -- and was adopted following a safety audit commissioned by the company.

Interfor vice-president Rick Slaco said before the new policy's introduction a mill employee had suffered a head injury about once every two months, but since November not a single head injury has been reported. "It's a really interesting issue, because what trumps what? Is it human rights or is it a safety issue?" he said. "The company's position is that we want to create a safe work environment for all our employees and that this question needs to be answered."

Slaco said Sahota and Sohal are the only two employees who have complained about the policy.

Slaco said that -- as was the case with a similar dispute with waterfront Sikh workers several years ago -- giving them jobs that do not require hard hats is the best compromise he can think of.

From the Vancouver Province

[saturn_656]

I don't think these two have half a brain between them, I got my first job in a sawmill when I was 19 and even being that young and foolish I knew the importance of proper PPE, lots of nasty things can happen to you in a sawmill, I've seen it.

If they didn't comply I'd can them. That is what would happen to any other employee who refused to wear the proper PPE, especially something as important as a bloody hardhat.

[stokes]

The reason why the company all of a sudden changed their policy is because of insurance, if all employs do not conform to the same safety standards then the company is not insured against injury.....which in a sawmill is more likely to happen. Also they are not being asked to remove their turbans and replace it with a helmet they are being told to wear a helmet over their turbans....which they could claim the cost of any special helmet on their taxes....this is a non-issue turning into a religous one....very fuckin sad!

[kenmore]

they will keep at it until someone caves... if they dont comply with the law and or company policy then no work.. to ticket no laundry... no unemployment or welfare... and if they dont like it they can leave...

[Chips66]

Religion and Safety do not mix.
I don't think these 2 guys have a clue as to what insurance premiums their employer pays and the resulting penalties of not complying with a safety rule that was broken.
Interfor took steps to eliminate the liability these 2 workers posed and even offered them jobs inside the company at eqaul pay.
Our company safety policy is quite clear, hard hats for everyone no exceptions!!
We have no Sikh workers here because our company lawyers have done their homework and have closed the loopholes.
We do allow them to wear the head scarf instead, but most are too stubborn or refuse outright to even comply with this small allowance at the time of 1st interview.
Our Safety policy is supported by our Union, WCB, Labor Board, and some Human Rights board that deals with complaints such as this.
In the end Safety is for everyone not just for a select few.

[Yogi]

Robair Robair:

$1:

.

$1:

They said they haven't worked since November, when their employer brought in a hard-hat-only policy aimed at lowering injury rates in the workplace. Interfor requires the two men to wear hard hats over their turbans.

ALL employees are now required to wear a hardhat, not just the Sikh employees. There can be no valid argument against the employer based on the stated reason for implementing the required use of hardhats. KUDOS to the employer!

[MindsEye]

I agree with them.

In fact, I'm so impressed, they should be promoted to the guys that work the lathe.
The horribly fast spinning lathe.
Come on. What's the worst that could happen?

[Yogi]

MindsEye MindsEye:

I agree with them.

In fact, I'm so impressed, they should be promoted to the guys that work the lathe.
The horribly fast spinning lathe.
Come on. What's the worst that could happen?

Fuck me. They'd go 'spinnin across the yard' so fast,the Tasmanian Devil would think he was standin still!

[Brenda]

Newfy Newfy:

Freakinoldguy Freakinoldguy:

Also just as an aside. I've seen Sikhs wearing small cloth head coverings when they aren't wearing their turbans, so why couldn't these two wear them under their safety helmets and still have their religous requirements covered?

We have alot of Sikhs in the British Army and they wear combat helmets like the rest of us. They wear a cloth bandana type head covering when they are wearing their helmets but where as we wear berets they wear a turban which is the same colour as our beret, with the appropriate cap badge mounted in the middle of the forehead. I've never heard of any complaints from them.

Where there's a will, there's a way...