BC sets age restrictions for hazardous jobs to increase safety for young workers

New amendments to the province’s Employment Standards Regulation go into effect on Jan. 1, in an effort to increase safety for young workers.

A news release says the amendments will introduce a minimum age for certain types of hazardous jobs.

Jobs within the construction, forestry, food processing, oil and gas and power and asbestos removal industries will now require a minimum age of 18.

This includes jobs such as loggers, smelters, oil drillers or other positions that run a risk of exposure to certain harmful materials.

For jobs in construction, fish processing and some animal processing work, the minimum age of employees will be set at 16-years-old.

“To ensure youth can still access important apprenticeship and training opportunities, the age restrictions do not apply to industry training programs overseen by SkilledTradesBC,” explains the news release.

“As well, current employees who reach the prescribed age by April 1, 2023, are excluded from the age requirements.”

These amendments were first announced in October 2022.

Statistics provided from the Ministry of Labour show that the annual injury rate in 2021 was 2.2 per 100 workers with some jobs having higher rates than others.

Framers have an injury rate of 7.8 per 100 workers while workers in abattoirs have a rate of 15.7 injuries per 100 workers. Manual tree fallers/buckers jump to a rate of 20 injuries per 100 workers.