Teens Must Know Workplace Rights

Its summer and students are now occupying summer positions with various organizations.  Some of these organizations may have safe, quiet  work environments while others may have a busy and dangerous work environment.

Eric Olivieri is a 16 year old who wanted to earn some extra cash, so he got himself a summer job.  

Unfortunately Olivieri suffered a workplace injury.  

On August 13, 2007, Olivieri arrived at his summer job, while working he was crushed by a 10-tonne nuclear reactor.  

Olivier suffered numerous injuries, he shattered his upper arm, blew out his bicep and triceps, broke his pelvis, broke his femur, shattered his knee and was stabbed in the neck.

"A guy jumped on top of me to stop the bleeding. I felt tired and peaceful. I thought I was dying," Olivieri recalled.

He received six blood transfusions and almost lost his leg. Doctors told him he might never be able to walk.  

"It felt like someone pressed pause on a remote and placed me on a shelf. I was forced to lay there and watch while everything else whizzed by. I lost a whole year of my life," Olivieri explains.

Olivieri hopes his experience can reach young workers, parents, and employers to prevent someone from experiencing similar traumatic incidents.

Olivier says, "People need to realize that there are thousands of jobs out there, but you only have one life. So what if you get fired, you don't want a job that could cost you your life."

Olivieri has learned that all Ontario employees have the right to refuse unsafe work.  Before  Olivieri sustained his workplace injury because he did not know and truly believe he had that right.   

"Something about helping move that nuclear reactor didn't feel right. There were bells going off in my head, but I didn't listen to them," he says. "I wanted to pull my weight and didn't want the other workers to see that I was scared. I now wish I hadn't wanted to be so cool."

Olivieri has used his experience to make a difference and help other young workers.  

"After surviving this accident, I wanted nothing more than to protect others from going through this. I want people to know that they have a right to a safe workplace, and that asking questions, receiving proper training, and knowing the risks of your job are essential to arriving home alive," he says.

He began to educate students on workplace safety.  His first presentation was at the IAPA Health & Safety Canada 2009 Youth Forum.

Olivieri talked about his injury, what his thoughts were before, during and after his injury, and the lessons he learned throughout his recovery

Read more here

Posted by: suhujitha on 2009-06-24 13:49:00

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