The message will come from booths and displays all week and in area high schools where Joe Legge, a former steelworker, will tell high school students the story of his 1977 accident.
“It’s the personal touch that makes the difference sometimes,” said Amanda Dennehy, a member of the North American Occupational Safety and Health Week committee.
“The fact he’s from Sydney Steel, I think everybody can relate to that somehow because someone from their family might have worked there or have been affected by that work.”
A flag raising at 9:30 a.m. today will kick off a week of activities. Displays and demonstrations at the Mayflower Mall will be held today (May 6) through Friday from 12-7 p.m.
They include a fall-arrest display that allows visitors to be suspended off the ground. There will also be an electrical display by Nova Scotia Power, and a mock-hazard scenario by the Nova Scotia Community College Marconi Campus occupational health and safety students.
Visitors can also fill out ballots to win daily prizes.
“You don’t have to leave Nova Scotia or Cape Breton to get a good job that is safe,” Dennehy said. “If you are working at a company that doesn’t have these safety programs in place then maybe you should think about doing something else.”
A free public information session Thursday from 10-11:30 a.m. at the Membertou Trade and Convention Centre will also help to get information out, she said.
The committee hopes worker education will help to prevent injuries and encourage a culture of safety at the workplace and at home.
Cape Breton Post
