James Reid still remembers the painful physiotherapy he endured after nearly losing the ability to walk in 2008.
But the never-ending medical exams, the threat of never working again and the constant pain was nothing compared to what was going on in Reid’s head. One day, he turned to his wife with a simple request: “Take me home and let me die.”
Fortunately, Reid survived. He also learned to walk again and now works with the Fort McMurray District Labour Council.
“It’s not just the emotional part of the actual physical injury. There’s also the psychological toll,” Reid, who can walk and work again, said during Thursday’s Day of Mourning ceremony at J. Howard Pew Memorial Park.
Last year, 125 workers reportedly died from work-related injuries or illnesses. Reid says he feels those rates have dropped so far this year, and longs for the day when that number is zero.
But in the 12 months since the last National Day of Mourning, launched by the Canadian Labour Congress, Alberta’s labour movement has become more sensitive to the mental and emotional health of workers.
For Ken Smith, president of Unifor Local 707A which represents more than 3,000 Suncor Energy workers, the fragile mental health of some of his workers is becoming visible throughout the workplace, especially in environments where information is not being shared.
“It seems rumours travel a lot faster now than even two years ago, and people seem to be a lot more fragile when dealing with extra stress,” he said. “It gets so bad we have people calling the office just asking for the truth, because there’s so many rumours running around. They don’t know what to believe and that makes their emotional and mental health worse.”
And with more than an estimated 40,000 oilsands workers who have lost their jobs in the last two years, the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) warned, in a statement, employers and workers may be tempted to cut corners in health and safety in the name of “short-term economic gain.”
“Employers have a responsibility to provide safe work places – a slowdown in the economy does not absolve them of that,” wrote AFL secretary treasurer Siobhan Vipond.
But fighting the ultimate work-related tragedy, suicide, is a topic that has many of Fort McMurray’s labour leaders worried. Smith says his local has fortunately not dealt with suicides. But data released last December from the Centre for Suicide Prevention shows other workplaces have not been so fortunate.
As the province’s downturn worsened, the group reported a 30 per cent rise in suicides between January and June of last year. Saskatchewan, another province feeling the pains of an oil price downturn, saw 19 per cent more suicides last year.
“I can’t say our members haven’t been affected by these stories they have read in the papers,” said Smith. “It definitely seems to be more of a common occurrence now, and we can only surmise the added stress of the downturn has been a major factor.”
Reid’s own wish for death disappeared after a friend told him to find meaning in his pain. Now when he goes to physiotherapy, he keeps an eye out for patients struggling with their injuries, “not having that good of a day.” Then he tells them his story.
“There is a reason for it. Since then, I’ve always tried to figure out what that reason is.”
vmcdermott@postmedia.com
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