Above photo: The Wolverine Mine, currently being decommissioned. File photo.
Conuma’s goal is to have no lost time incidents (LTIs) due to accident or injury. Safety, they say, is their number one priority.
But what happens when someone gets injured?
When we talked to Conuma last month, they said there was no connection between a worker’s LTI and who got laid off when the Wolverine Mine closed.
After that story was published, we had a bunch of people—currently, eight—reach out to the paper saying that they had a Worker’s Compensation Claim due to a LTI, and that they had been laid off.
Because Tumbler Ridge is a very small town, and because many of the former employees did not want to be identified, we have created a single identity for this group: Prius Opifex.
According to Opifex, they had been put on the attendance program for employees, but in August of last year, they were days away from getting off the program, after almost six months of no missed work. “I was very keen to get off this program and make a good impression to prove myself.”
However, halfway through their shift, they began to feel sick. They went to work, worried that, instead of being removed from the program, they would instead get bumped to Level 2—which means that any more missed time results in immediate termination.
When the Health and Safety Advisor saw Opifex, she said they should go home, and return “only when you have recovered.”
They said they wanted to demonstrate their commitment to the job. “The health and safety advisor said I wouldn’t be moved to level 2, because she had witnessed my illness and would have my back if anything came of the situation. She said ‘No one can be at work sick, and getting others sick.’”
So, on the orders of the Health and Safety Advisor, Opifex went home, missing a day and a half of work. When they returned the following Friday, they were informed that any further absences within the next six months would lead to termination and they were now moved to a Level 2 despite what they had been told.
Their supervisor told them there was nothing he could do, and it would have to be dealt with by HR. Unfortunately, the HR person was on vacation, and, when she returned, Opifex chose not to speak up, fearing that they would be viewed as a troublemaker.
At about the same time, Opifex says, they wound up tripping and falling and inuring themselves. “This happened at 11pm. I was kept at work until the next morning. I had a huge bruise on my face. The health and safety guy came in at 5am asked me what had happened. The pain was so unbearable, I could barely make it out of bed the next day.”
Opifex tried to work through the pain, but wound up just injuring themselves more, this time throwing their back out driving a truck they were unfamiliar with.
Turns out something had got jammed behind the seat of the truck they were driving. After telling their supervisor, of the issue, they were called into the office for a statement on what had happened. “It was during this meeting that I expressed my belief that the issue lay with the truck seat itself,” they say. “Upon further investigation, it was discovered that objects were wedged behind the seat, obstructing the proper function of the air ride mechanism from working properly.”
According to Opifex, the seat had been obstructed for days. “I wasn’t the only employee driving this truck who overlooked these objects,” they say. “The cab of this particular truck is very small and it was hard to notice the objects wedged in the seat. I thought at the time that the air ride was retracting properly, as I was not familiar with this truck and there was always talk about it being uncomfortable among employees.”
In Conuma’s investigation it was determined by the mechanics: that “someone heavier than [Opifex] would not have been affected, as they would have been able to push the seat down on the weight of the objects and the air ride would’ve retracted properly.’’
Opifex says their employer asked why they didn’t speak up earlier. Opifex says they were concerned for their job, and didn’t want to be seen as a troublemaker.
Instead of being met with sympathy, Opifex felt berated. “The Mine Manager came across as very harsh, essentially attributing the incident to my supposed lack of common sense and unawareness of surroundings. While it may not have been the Mine Manager’s intention, I couldn’t focus during the meeting and found myself having a panic attack. There were tears streaming down my face and I struggled to breathe. I felt like I just had to get out of that room. I was getting drilled for what had happened in a negative way. The experience was reminiscent of being a child facing discipline for a wrongdoing. And it was something I hadn’t experienced in years. I left the meeting feeling ashamed that my coworkers had seen me in such a vulnerable state.”
Brian Marshall, Chief Operating Officer for Conuma, said in a previous issue of the paper that many people with WCB claims also have safety violations, but Opifex says that isn’t true. “I wouldn’t say that WCB claims come with safety violations at all. Sometimes it’s because of a pulled muscle, sometimes it’s because someone else’s safety violation caused them to get hurt. Sometimes it’s because the culture of safety at Conuma is a joke, and if we actually followed every safety rule they would’ve gone bankrupt a long time ago.”
When safety leads to fear
Rakesh Verma, CEO of AeonMed Health and Hospitals says that safety culture can take a dark turn. In their push to be ever vigilant, the drive for safety leads to “an oppressive regime of fear and control that stifles innovation and erodes morale. In their zeal to create a ‘culture of safety,’ many … organizations have unwittingly cultivated an atmosphere of fear and punishment. Staff live in constant dread of making even the slightest mistake, lest they face repercussions.”
Verma writes that “People in ‘punitive’ environment are increasingly reluctant to speak up about safety concerns or near-misses. The natural human instinct to avoid blame and protect one’s career trumps the imperative to learn from mistakes and continually improve. This effect on reporting robs the organization of the invaluable data/insights needed to proactively address systemic risks.”
Conuma is proud of their safety records, with two mines out of three reporting zero lost time incidents last year.
Indeed, the Brule Mine recently won the Edward Prior Award for achieving the lowest frequency of Lost Time Injuries among all mines in British Columbia in 2023 with recorded work hours between 200,000 and 1 million. “The mine accomplished an impressive 996,000 hours worked without a lost time injury,” writes Couma in an annoucement. “This is the third time Brule Mine has received this prestigious award, previously winning in 2017 and 2020. Conuma’s Wolverine Mine won the award in 2018, 2019 and 2021.”
But is the company succumbing to what Verma calls an atmosphere of fear and punishment? Opifex thinks so. They say their WCB claim was denied because Conuma didn’t support it.
And they’re not the only one. They know another former employee who is having trouble getting their WCB claim put through, because the company is claiming his injury wasn’t work related, despite WCB forms all being filed previous to layoff. “He’s on hard times now,” says Opifex.
Conuma says that 22 people were laid off (though some former employees say this number was higher). We have spoken to six of these employees, and all of them have or have had LTI incidents in the last year or so.
In an effort to reduce or even eliminate the amount of lost time, Conuma will reassign people to modified duties.
This is typically light office work, or simple but often monotonous tasks like sorting papers, folding alcohol wipes or assembling reflective stakes. One time, Opifex had to pick up cigarette butts outside, even though they don’t smoke.
When safety leads to bullying
Opifex says they did these light duties for a few months, but discovered that being on modified duty lead to a fall in their standing amongst their co-workers. “They began treating me with disrespect and hostility,” says Opifex. “I got very lonely doing modified duties, and when I came in contact with someone I felt excited. But they treated me cruelly, making derogatory remarks such as calling me a “dog f***er”, or they questioned my contributions to the workplace: ‘what do you even do here?, I’m surprised they haven’t fired you yet.’”
And, when the mine gave out gift cards to employees, Opifex didn’t receive one. “They said I never contributed, so I didn’t deserve one.”
These experiences left Opifex feeling marginalized and bullied within the workplace. “When I confided to the Health and Safety Advisor about the mistreatment, I was directed to a closet used for recycling storage, and told ‘out of sight, out of mind.’’
This did not help Opifex feel a part of a team. “The closet was maybe ten feet by ten feet. It is sticky and smells like old recycling, and it highlighted the dehumanizing treatment I was enduring. After waiting for my original workers’ compensation claim for over two months at this point, my hope and motivation began to wane. I couldn’t get physiotherapy until I was approved by WCB and felt like I was at a standstill. I dreaded going to work as I knew what to expect. It felt like I was being punished by Conuma for being hurt. I have spoken with multiple employees who have been on this program and they all believe more needs to be done when it comes to giving employees meaningful tasks on modified duties.”
Opifex says that some days, instead of trying to find tasks to do at work, they would go into the recycling room, curl up on the floor to cry. “The combination of anxiety, bullying and physical pain led me into a major spiral of emotional distress. I lost over 15 pounds and was eating very poorly struggling to care for myself. I felt like a shell of a person. I still tried to express my feelings and asked for tasks that would help keep my mind occupied, but I consistently received the same response from my superiors, HR, shift leaders, and the Health and Safety department: ‘Sorry, we have nothing for you.’ I felt like a ghost, unnoticed and unappreciated, and it seemed like everyone looked down on me. It became clear to me that Conuma was trying to phase me out of the workplace. I kept hearing from other employees ‘they’re trying to make you so miserable that you quit.’ I even spoke to the BC labour board and was told the same thing.
Despite over a year of dedication and love for my job, which had once provided me with a sense of loyalty and freedom, I now felt like everything I valued had been taken away from me.”
By the end of November, Opifex says they began to feel suicidal, and even called a suicide help line.
But things were to get worse, not better. Finally feeling better, they were planning on returning to work on a modified schedule, but they day before they were to go in, they got a call from Conuma saying their WCB claim had been denied. “The reason cited for the denial was that the strain I sustained must have occurred within a four-week period from September 27 to October 24, as I did not see a doctor until the 24th. However, this assertion is inaccurate as I sought medical attention from a different physician on October 6, and was diagnosed with a strain and given lifting limitations. My doctor has stated numerous times that I developed a strain due to the faulty seat, exacerbated by driving over rough terrain. My doctor confirmed that the strain was ‘not the result of a specific incident, but rather due to prolonged jarring of the back without proper support over the course of three days at work. As a result of the denial, I have not been able to return to work.”
Prior to all this, says Opifex, they took great pride in their work. “I loved my job. I would’ve recommend Conuma to anyone. I thought I was going to raise a family in Tumbler Ridge. Operating a haul truck brought me immense joy. I enjoyed financial independence and felt like I was at the peak of my life. I was respected, I felt free and going to work was both purposeful and enjoyable. However, since my injury, I have been subjected to extreme mistreatment.
“And now, I have been terminated with no cause. I think this is what happens when safety regulations become more important than the people they’re meant to protect.”
Know someone who needs help; are experiencing emotional distress. Help is Available. Speak to someone today. 9-8-8: Suicide Crisis Helpline
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.