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Saskatchewan’s workplace injury and death rates both dropped in 2024.
According to data from the Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board, the province’s workplace injury rate of 3.91 per 100 workers in 2024 set a new historical low for the province, dropping for the second consecutive year.
The 2024 injury rate represents a 1.01 per cent decrease over the 2023 rate of 3.95 injuries per 100 workers.
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Saskatchewan saw 27 workplace fatalities last year, the board reported, representing a drop of seven per cent from the 29 deaths at worksites in 2023 and the lowest rate the province has seen since 2017.
Ten of those fatalities were due to occupation-related diseases, and the remaining 17 were due to “traumatic incidents” including car crashes, drowning and contact with mechanical equipment.
Gord Dobrowolsky, the chair of the compensation board, said the decline in the workplace injury rate represents the results of a lot of hard work on the part of employers, employees, safety associations and leaders across Saskatchewan.
“Safety starts with us on every job, every shift,” Dobrowolsky said in a statement.
“It is our combined efforts that continue to reduce injury rates. While these numbers are heading in the right direction, even one injury is too many.”
For the fifth consecutive year, 90 per cent of the province’s workplaces saw no fatalities or injuries, the board reported. Saskatchewan’s time loss injury rate also fell in 2024, dropping 3.37 per cent to 1.72 per 100 workers.
“I applaud the collaboration across the province focusing on reducing workplace injury rates,” said Phillip Germain, CEO of the Workers’ Compensation Board.
“Our province leads the country in so many ways, but when it comes to workplace safety, we still have a ways to go before we are number one in workplace safety in Canada. We are committed to ensuring safer workplaces in our province. While safe workplaces are good for business, the most important part of every job is for each worker to come home safely.”
