Adam Mc Lean
Rob Ellis (above) addressed students at Richmond Green Secondary School last Friday, bringing his sad personal message of workplace safety to the young people. At left, students lined up with questions for Mr. Ellis and the business ‘champions’ in attendance.
Richmond Hill
November 20, 2008 11:38 PM
Adam Mc Lean
It was a personal story and warning message that brought tears to the eyes of students, faculty and various business leaders at Richmond Green Secondary School last Friday morning.
The message: It’s important for students to know, identify possible risks or dangers and to ask questions when working at part-time or summer jobs and put personal safety ahead of their paycheque.
It was a plea to not end up like David Ellis.
‘I desperately miss him every minute of every day and I still can’t believe that this happened to my boy.’
The message was brought to the students by Rob Ellis; an ordinary dad who lost his son, David, to a workplace accident in 1999. David was only 18 and it was his second day on the job at a bakery.
“I desperately miss him every minute of every day and I still can’t believe that this happened to my boy,” Mr. Ellis told the filled auditorium of students not much younger than David was when he died.
David was removing dough from an industrial mixer, when a power surge activated the machine. David was pulled into the mixer and died from his injuries six days later.
Mr. Ellis believes if David received adequate training and knew the right questions to ask his employers, he would be alive today.
Since David’s death, Mr. Ellis has become an activist for workplace safety and founded Our Youth at Work, which challenges business leaders to get involved and connect with students directly, surrounding the issue of young worker safety.
His presentation consists of informing students of their rights at the workplace, through a heartbreaking video displaying the life of the son he lost and also an open forum for students to ask questions to a panel of business representatives.
Present Friday were representatives or champions as Mr. Ellis calls them, from Loblaws, PowerStream and General Mills, as well as leaders from the Education Safety Association of Ontario, Ryder Consulting and co-op teachers from other local schools.
The presentation began with a video of friends sharing their memories of David, spliced with home movie footage.
While the video plays, tears begin to well up and sorrow hangs like a fog in the room. The epitomy and physical manifestation of this tragedy is Mr. Ellis sitting in a dark corner of the auditorium, alone, with his back turned to the large screen, which shows his son smiling as he does a playful slide down a staircase railing
“You are looking at a dad who can’t watch that video anymore,” Mr. Ellis tells the crowd after the lights come up.
“I made a big mistake with David. My thinking was old school. When David came home after his first day at the bakery, all I asked him was, ‘How was it’? He just simply told me ‘ya know, it’s a job,’ that was it.
“The questions we both should have been asking are: Is there a lot of turnover in this position? Will I be replacing an experienced former employee? Will I receive training or an orientation period?
“Dave didn’t know to ask these questions. He just put his head down and did his job.”
These are the exact questions Mr. Ellis and his team of champions want young workers to be comfortable asking their employers.
‘Students ... are scared to speak up to their bosses, because they are worried they will be fired.’
Randy Plener is president and CEO of the Education Safety Association of Ontario and was one of the “champions” in attendance, addressing the questions of curious students.
“The question or concern I hear the most from students is that they are scared to speak up to their bosses, because they are worried they will be fired,” Mr. Plener said.
“A large part of why we are here is to let these kids know that they have the right under law to a safe work environment and the story of David, told by Rob, really hits home for these kids.”
And the proof was in the line-up of students after the presentation with various questions for Mr. Ellis and the panel of champions.
“This is a safe environment for students to ask questions and they have every right to ask them,” said Nina Cooper, executive administrator of My Safe Work.
My Safe Work is dedicated to educating youth regarding work safety.
They work closely with Mr. Ellis and the organization offers young workers a safety net, Mrs. Cooper said.
“We let youth know that if they feel their workplace is unsafe and they are hesitant to voice their concern directly to their employer, they can come to us,” she added.
Various questions from students came fast and furious: “How much training is enough?” “What can I do to better acknowledge hazards?” “What are your tips to engaging your employer in a discussion about safety?”
Construction co-op students Tyler Roberts, 17, and Connor Hoselton, 16, said they both knew the story of Rob and David Ellis before the presentation and both of them said safety in the workplace is a main focus of their co-op everyday.
“We do kitchen work, demolition work and each semester the first thing we do is spend some lab time going over safety training,” Mr. Roberts said.
“We go through harness training and certification, hazardous materials training, that sort of stuff. I am curious to ask what you can do on the construction site or if you were to open a shop, how you can make things safe?” Mr Hoselton added.
Rob Ellis makes this presentation more than 150 times a year, all across Canada. In the past two weeks he has spread his message and told the story of his son 12 times to schools in Windsor all the way to Fort McMurray, Alberta.
For information or if you are in a workplace you feel is unsafe, visit
www.mysafework.com or the Work Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario at
www.wsib.on.ca