Battling
Fatigue
Saskatchewan looks to introduce
new regulations to allow more
opportunities for workers
during their peak earning
period, but must be able to
manage worker fatigue
By Craig Slater, Martin Charlton Communications
Uncertainty is one way to best describe the road con-struction
season in Saskatchewan.
Starting and stopping dates are anyone’s guess,
mainly due to unpredictable winter and summer weather patterns.
Strong winds and heavy rains have been notorious for delaying proj-ects
for weeks at a time. And for the many who make a living in this
industry, uncertainty is not a comforting word when it comes to
maximizing one’s earning potential.
The Saskatchewan Heavy Construction Association (SHCA) has
been working to alleviate questions in an attempt to bring more sta-bility
to employees’ schedules and subsequent annual earnings.
New regulations could be on the horizon in this province in rela-tion
to summer work schedules and the number of hours a worker
is allowed in a seven-day workweek.
In mid-June, SHCA secured a permit for the road construction
sector that would grant contractors the ability to schedule shifts for
employees up to 13 weeks in advance. This far exceeds the old regu-lation,
which limited contractors to a four-week scheduling window.
The flexibility is something that has been coveted by SHCA for
some time. The longer work cycle also allows contractors a longer
period of time where they can have employees on job sites, which
20 Think BIG | Quarter 3 2017 | saskheavy.ca