August 20, 2008

WorkSafeBC expects drop in base assessment rates for construction industry

Bradley Fehr

editor

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 rebate 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 particular 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.

“The individual contractor plays a key role in this,” he said.

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.

The new rates for next year are still considered preliminary because they haven’t been approved by the WorkSafeBC board of directors.

However, the board is expected to give their approval sometime in September or October.

“The rates are pretty much determined at this point, barring something spectacular happening,” he said.

Employers can further keep their costs down by participating in the Construction Safety Association of British Columbia’s (CSABC’s) Certificate of Recognition (COR) safety education program.

There is 10 per cent rebate for completing the Health & Safety COR and another five per cent rebate is possible for injury management/ return-to-work.

The construction industry contributes about $200 million in assessments annually to WorkSafeBC, which is about 20 per cent of the occupational health and safety authority’s assessment revenue.

A full list of proposed base assessment rates can be found at www.worksafebc.com/insurance/premiums and clicking on the link for 2009 preliminary rates.

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