August 25, 2008

Construction industry benefits from drop in WorkSafeBC’s base assessment rates

BRADLEY FEHR

staff writer

For the third year in a row, most WorkSafeBC base assessment rates will drop for employers in B.C.’s construction industry.

The preliminary assessment rates were recently announced by WorkSafeBC.

“The reduction is excellent news during a time of high construction activity,” said Grant McMillan, president of the Council of Construction Associations (COCA).

The council acts on behalf of the construction industry in WorkSafeBC matters.

One of the biggest rate drops should be for the Industrial Commercial and Institutional (ICI) classification unit, where the rate will fall to $3.67 from $4.08 per $100 of payroll.

“We believe we’re at the lowest rates we’ve seen for the ICI sector,” McMillan said.

Another significant decrease should be for masonry, which moves to $4.38 from $5.45.

The adjustment of rates is determined by taking a number of factors into account, including costs and the revenue coming into the portfolio for WorkSafeBC.

“Ultimately, it depends on claims costs,” he explained.

Recently released WorkSafeBC statistics show that there were fewer claims for injury accidents and survival benefits per 1,000 employees than ever before recorded in the history of the provincial construction industry.

The statistics are something that McMillan is proud of and are something that shows that safety is a priority for the construction industry.

However, not everyone in the construction industry will see a drop in their base assessments. Structural moving will see an increase to $3.76 from $3.61.

McMillan explained that a sector such as structural moving is a much smaller classification unit and is therefore more susceptible to volatile change.

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