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Learning English with CBCListening Lessons for Intermediate StudentsBased on CBC Manitoba Radio Broadcasts

November 22, 2013Lesson 93: Self Study Edition

Level: CLB 6 and up

Topic: Workplace Health and Safety

Language Skills and Functions: Listening – listening to a short interview for details and main ideas

Speaking – giving advice; introducing a guest speaker

Reading – reading a text; reading a formWriting – completing a form;

writing an introduction

Language Competencies: Vocabulary, Pronunciation, Listening and Speaking Strategies, Socio-cultural/sociolinguistic Competence

Language Tasks: Express opinions on workplace health and safety

Use new vocabulary in context

Listen to an interview with fire protection expert Brad Loewen about his new job improving safety in the garment industry in Bangladesh

Use vocabulary to describe workplace hazards

Give advice on workplace hazards using the modal should/shouldn’t

Read and complete a sample workplace accident report form

Read a news story about Brad Loewen; write an introduction for him as a guest speaker

Essential Skills: Reading text, oral communication, writing

Appendices: Transcript of the podcastGlobal News: Winnipegger chosen to improve safety in Bangladesh garment factories Answers to Worksheets

Self Study: Workplace Health and Safety Learning English with CBC of 21

Manitoba Memo

In the late 1800’s, death on the job in Canada was part of life in some industries. Mining was notoriously dangerous for workers. The building of the Canadian Pacific Railway took the lives of thousands of immigrant workers, most of whom came from China.

There was also little or no support for workers who were injured on the job. It wasn’t until 1914 that Canada’s first modern workers’ compensation law was enacted. At that time, the principles of worker’s compensation were established. These principles include a no-fault system. This means that workers who have workers’ compensation coverage are compensated for an injury whether it is their fault, the fault of an employer, or the fault of a co-worker.

By the 1980’s there was an increasing awareness that workplaces could also cause cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Individual workers and their families, as well as labour unions, fought for changes to help workers stay safe on the job. This led to new laws and regulations that gave Canadian workers the “Right to Know” what they are working with and the “Right to Refuse” work in unsafe conditions. Today, workplace safety regulations are well-established across Canada.

In Manitoba, the Workplace Safety and Health Act1 was set up to protect workers, self-employed persons and others from risks to their safety, health and welfare that are related to their workplace. It is based on the philosophy that responsibility for workplace safety and health is shared. Employers have the most control over what happens in a workplace, which means they have the greatest legal responsibility. They are expected to do everything that is reasonable and practical to protect their workers. This includes providing safe equipment, a safe working environment, ensuring adequate and well-trained supervision, training workers before they begin their jobs and providing information about workplace health and safety.

Managers, supervisors and employees are expected to help their employer with these responsibilities. Supervisors and workers are expected to cooperate in controlling workplace hazards. Supervisors are responsible for the safety and health of the workers in their areas. Workers are responsible for protecting themselves and other workers from mistakes that cause workplace injuries. They are also responsible for learning how to use safety equipment, clothing and devices the right way.

Larger workplaces have joint health and safety committees. These committees consist of labour and management representatives who meet on a regular basis to deal with health and safety issues. Smaller workplaces may have a health and safety representative instead of a committee.

Governments, employers, unions and workers continue to work together to improve workplace health and safety because safe work is in everyone’s interest.

1 Information is from: www.gov.mb.ca/ctt/invest/busfacts/workforce/s_h_act.html


http://www.gov.mb.ca/ctt/invest/busfacts/workforce/s_h_act.html

Background

1. Express opinions and answer questions about workplace health and safety

Think about the workplaces in your community. Think about workplace health and safety rules and how they affect workers. Read the following questions. Do you have the speaking skills you need to describe workplace situations? Do you have the listening skills to understand what others are describing? Can you make comparisons and understand when someone else makes a comparison?

1. Think about a typical workplace in your community. What kinds of workplace hazards do workers face?

2. What laws are in place to protect workers and who enforces them?

3. Can workers refuse to work if there is no safety equipment and if the work is too dangerous?

4. What differences have you noticed between the workplace in your former community and here in Canada?

5. Do you think it is fair to compare workplace health and safety standards between a

developing country and a developed country? Why or why not?

2. Vocabulary definitions

Here are some words you need to know to understand the CBC interview.

Vocabulary

an image An image is a picture you have in your mind of something. For example: I can’t forget the image of the building collapsing with the workers still inside.

a garment factory A garment factory is where items of clothing are manufactured.

a Manitoba connection If someone has a Manitoba connection, it means something about them is linked or tied to Manitoba.


For example, the connection could be that they live here, grew up here, have family here or worked here at one time.

working conditions Working conditions describe the situation in which someone works. For example, working conditions can refer to the physical building you work in, the safety of your workplace or what you are paid.

to collapse When something collapses, it falls down. For example: Shortly after the fire started, the entire building collapsed. The walls and ceiling fell down on the workers who were still inside.

an exit An exit is a door, window etc. that you can use to get out of a public space in case of fire or other emergencies. In Canada, exits in public spaces must be clearly marked.

to stick to (a story) If you stick to your story, you keep telling the same story. You don’t change the details.

an incident An incident is an event. We describe an event as an incident if it is an unusual, important or violent occurrence. Accidents and crimes are often referred to as incidents.

primary concerns Primary concerns are the most important concerns in a situation. For example, the primary concern in a fire is to get people out safely.

secondary concerns Secondary concerns are not as important as primary concerns. For example, the secondary concern in a fire is to try to prevent as much damage as possible to the building.

to be obvious When something is obvious, it is easy to notice or understand. You can’t miss seeing it because it’s right in front of you.

to be sorely lacking something If something is severely lacking, it means there’s not enough of it. For example: Clearly marked exits were severely lacking in the garment factory in Bangladesh. There were not nearly enough of them.

an early warning system An early warning system tells you that something dangerous is about to happen or could happen. Smoke detectors and tsunami sirens are examples of early warning systems.


standards Standards are written to let people know what level of quality is expected or accepted for something. For example, in Manitoba, employers are expected to follow certain workplace health and safety standards or rules in their workplaces.

to adhere to (a plan) If you adhere to a plan, you follow it, you agree to do what it says.

to coordinate something If you coordinate an event or meeting, it means you organize people / organizations etc. so that they work together and accomplish something.

brands A brand is a type of product made by a particular company that has a particular name or design. For example, Joe Fresh is the brand name of a line of clothing.

to work on a cause If you work on, fight for or support a particular idea, organization or belief, we say you are working on/ for a cause.

to be shocked If you are shocked, you feel surprised and upset by something that is unexpected or unpleasant.

the developed world The developed world refers to countries that are economically and technologically advanced.

sensibilities Our sensibilities are the things we are aware of or respond to. For example, people with developed world sensibilities would not expect buildings to collapse the way the factory collapsed in Bangladesh.

an occupied building An occupied building is a building that has people living or working in it.


3. Use your new vocabulary in context

Learning vocabulary before you listen helps you understand the podcast. Can you match each vocabulary word or phrase with its meaning. You can use the vocabulary definitions in this lesson and an English Language Learner’s Dictionary to help you. The first one is completed for you as an example.

Vocabulary Word Meaning

1. _d an image a) a way out of a public building

2. __ garments b) less important or less critical concerns in a situation

3. __ working conditions c) an event that is unusual, important or violent

4. __ to collapse d) a picture that you have in your mind

5. __ an exit e) a company or type of product that is recognizable by its name or design

6. __ to stick to a story f) to be very clear, to be easily seen or understood

7. __ an incident g) a siren or other signal that tells you something dangerous is about to happen or could happen

8. __ primary concerns h) items of clothing

9. __ secondary concerns i) to organize a meeting, a group of people etc. to do something

10. __ to be obvious j) to be surprised or upset by something that is unexpected or unpleasant

11. __ to be sorely lacking something

k) to obey a rule, law or agreement

12. __ an early warning system

l) to keep telling the same story using the same details

13. __ standards m) the situation in which someone works

14. __ to adhere to n) to not have nearly enough of something

15. __ to coordinate o) to fall down

16. __ a brand p) a building that has people in it

17. __ to be shocked q) rules or guidelines that specify quality, performance etc.

18. __ an occupied building r) the most important concerns in a situation


4. Can you predict what the interview is about?

In this interview Maeghan Ketcheson speaks with Brad Loewen, a fire protection expert and engineer. Brad is going to work in Bangladesh to try to improve fire safety in the garment industry. Can you predict what kind of challenges he might face in his new job?

One challenge he might face is…that rules and standards in Bangladesh are different than those in Canada.Another challenge he might face is …employers may not want to spend the money necessary to upgrade their factories.He may find it’s challenging to…get the different organizations he is working with to agree on what needs to be done.He could also find it’s challenging to… live and work in a very different culture.

5. Get ready to listen

In this podcast, you will hear three speakers. You will hear:

Marcy Markusa – host Maeghan Ketcheson – interviewerBrad Loewen – fire inspector

Play the podcast for the first time.

After-listening activities

1. Review pre-listening predictions

Were you able to predict the kinds of challenges Brad Loewen might face in his new job in Bangladesh?


2. Listen for main ideas and details

Listen to the interview between Maeghan Ketcheson and Brad Loewen as they talk about the workplace tragedy in Bangladesh. Do you have the listening skills to listen for details, main ideas and general meaning?

Read each statement and decide if it is true or false. The first one is completed for you as an example.

Statement True False

1. The fire in Bangladesh was in a clothing factory. T

2. The fire killed over 1,500 people.

3. Brad Loewen will go to Bangladesh to help improve building and fire safety.

4. Brad feels that fire exits to get people out safely are most important.

5. Brad will be working with only the unions in Bangladesh.

6. For Brad, the most shocking part of the tragedy was the fire itself.

7. This is an example of international cooperation.

When you have correctly identified the statements that are false, go back and change the wording to make them true statements.


3. Can you identify and describe workplace hazards?

Sometimes you need to identify and describe hazards in the workplace. Practise the vocabulary you might need to describe common dangers or hazards in the workplace and the injuries they may cause. It is also important to have the vocabulary to talk about ways to stay safe at work. Can you complete the chart using the information provided?

Hazards Possible Injuries Ways to Stay Safe1. a damaged ladder a fall and a broken arm use a ladder in good repair

2. a very heavy item to lift

3. flying pieces of wood/ sawdust from a saw

4. strong chemicals on your hands

5. a high level of noise

6. particles or dust in the air

Possible Injuries

Ways to Stay Safe

use a forklift

use a ladder in good repair

use ear protection

use protective gloves

use safety glasses

wear a mask


hearing loss a back injury an eye injury chemical burns

a fall and a broken arm breathing difficulties

4. Can you give advice to a co-workers about workplace hazards?

When we spot a workplace hazard, we may need to give some advice about how to stay safe. When we give advice, we often use the modal “should.” For example:

When you lift something that is very heavy, you should lift it properly. you should bend your knees. you should use a forklift.

When you lift something that is very heavy, you shouldn’t bend your back. you shouldn’t twist as you lift. You shouldn’t lift more than is safe.

We can use the modal “should” when we want to give someone advice. We use the modal with the simple form of the verb.

e.g. should + lift or shouldn’t + lift

Be careful not to make this mistake: You should to lift.You shouldn’t to lift.

Do you have the language to give advice? Read each situation and give advice about how to stay safe. The first one is completed for you as an example.

1. You see a co-worker using a broken ladder. What advice would you give?

You shouldn’t use a broken ladder. You should use a ladder in good repair.

2. Your co–worker is using a very noisy machine with no protection for her ears. What advice would you give?

___________________________________________________________________

3. You see small pieces of wood and sawdust flying from a saw near where you are working. Your co-worker is rubbing her eyes. What advice would you give?

___________________________________________________________________

4. You see a co-worker lifting a very heavy box. He isn’t bending his knees to lift. What advice would you give?

_____________________________________________________________________

5. Your co-worker is about to use a strong chemical to wipe down a machine. She has no protection for her hands. What advice would you give?

_____________________________________________________________________


5. Can you complete a workplace accident report form?

If you are involved in an accident at work in Manitoba, you will likely be asked to fill in an accident report form. You should be familiar with the structure of a form and have the writing skills to correctly fill it in.

Read the following story about an accident at work. Imagine you are the injured worker in the story. Then, fill in the form on the next two pages describing what happened to you.

Culture note

On the incident form, you will see the abbreviation N/A in several questions. N/A is a common abbreviation that is often used on forms. It means Not (N) Applicable (A). In other words, you check the N/A box when a question is not relevant to your circumstance or situation. It means the question does not apply to you.


A Workplace Accident

You are a factory worker. You work in the warehouse department. Yesterday, you were helping to unload freight at the factory where you work. The delivery truck arrived at 3:30 just before the end of your shift, so you were in a hurry to unload it. You quickly pulled a box off the truck and suddenly it started to fall on you. The box was heavy. It weighed 50 kg. You turned quickly to try to stop the box from falling. The floor was slippery and you slipped. You felt a sudden pain in your back as you turned around. The box was not damaged. Your co-workers were worried about you, but you felt okay. You didn’t go to see a doctor, but when you woke up this morning your back felt stiff and sore. Your boss asked you to fill in an accident report form describing what happened. The boss asked you to be sure to use a forklift next time. He reminded you about what you learned at the workplace safety course you took last month.

Incident Report Form2

To be completed by individual(s) directly involved or injured in the incident.

Name: Occupation:

Address: Department:

Work Phone:

Home Phone:

Please select one of the following: Incident/Near Miss Injury

Occurrence: Date (dd/mm/yy): ____/____/____ Time: ______am/pm

Details of injury/illness & treatment (e.g. body part involved, cut, strain, bruise, illness symptoms and date of onset, etc.):

___________________________________________________________________________________

Was medical treatment received?

First aid at work Family physician Hospital No

Was a Workers’ Compensation Report filed? (required if one of the covered employee groups)

Yes No N/A

Was there any property/equipment damage?

Yes No N/A

If yes, identify property involved and description of damage:

___________________________________________________________________________________

Was the correct equipment/tool/material used? Yes No N/A

2 Example only. Adapted from a form used by the University of Winnipeg: www.uwinnipeg.ca/index/safety-emergaccident


http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/index/safety-emergaccident

http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/index/safety-emergaccident

Were workplace conditions contributing factors? (e.g. slippery floors, noise, lighting, etc.)

Yes No N/A

If yes, describe the conditions:

___________________________________________________________________________________

Was lack of personal protective equipment or safety controls a contributing factor?

Yes No N/A

If Yes, explain:

___________________________________________________________________________________

Was safety training provided? Yes No N/AIf No, explain:

___________________________________________________________________________________

Describe how the incident occurred:

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Name of witness: ____________________________ Phone number: _________________________

Causes of the incident – i.e. why did it happen and what conditions and/or actions contributed to the

injury?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Employee’s Signature _________________________________ Date: _________________

I certify that the information provided is correct.

*Give to supervisor immediately.*


6. Do you have the language skills you need to introduce a guest speaker?

If Brad Loewen came to your class or to a community organization you are involved with to talk about his work in Bangladesh, would you have the speaking skills you need to introduce him?

Here are some things to keep in mind when you are introducing a guest speaker:

At the beginning of your introduction:

Introduce yourself.

Introduce the speaker, using their full name. Be sure to talk to them in advance. For example, is it Brad or Bradley? How is Loewen pronounced? Make a note of how the person’s name sounds to you phonetically if you need to.

If you are going to introduce a speaker using their official title, make sure you know what it is!

Tell the audience the title or main theme of the talk.

In the middle of your introduction:

Explain in your own words why the speaker has been chosen to speak. Share some relevant information about the speaker, for example, their professional background, their education and/or their experience. Include a couple of facts you find interesting.

You may also want to tell the audience why this topic should be of interest to them.

At the end of your introduction:

Welcome the speaker to the front of the classroom using his/her name again. You can also applaud as they come to the front so that they feel welcome.

Your Task

Read the newspaper article in Appendix 2. Use the information from the article and the CBC interview to write your introduction. Can you convince the audience that Brad Loewen is qualified to speak to them and that his topic is interesting? Use the writing guide to help you.


Write Your Introduction

Beginning As most of you know, my name is ____________________. Today,

we are having a guest speaker. His name is Brad Loewen and he is

here to talk to us about fire protection and his new job in

Bangladesh. He has been appointed as _____________________

_________________________. His task is to________________

_____________________________________________________.

MiddleBrad is the right person for this job. He began as _____________

________________________________. He has worked as a

__________________________________________________. In

Bangladesh, he will be responsible for_______________________

______________________________________________________.

End Please join me in welcoming Brad Loewen to our class. (Applause)


Want to know more on this topic?

Both the federal and provincial governments have information on workplace health and safety:For the province, go to: www.gov.mb.ca/labour/safety/For the federal government, go to: www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/occup-travail/index-eng.php

The Safe Work Manitoba website is: http://safemanitoba.com/Safe Work Manitoba also has information in many languages. Choose the resources tab and then choose download publications. Then select a publication in your language.

The Worker’s Compensation Board of Manitoba website is: www.wcb.mb.ca/

You can find a toolkit for newcomers on the Worker’s Compensation Board website. It also has resources for teachers: www.wcb.mb.ca/prevention-is-the-best-medicine-a-toolkit-for-newcomers-to-manitoba

The Manitoba Federation of Labour (MFL) website has information on making your workplace safer: mfl.ca/workplace/safer-workplace.html

You can also find information on the MFL Occupational Health Centre website at: http://mflohc.mb.ca/

CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external websites


http://mflohc.mb.ca/

http://mfl.ca/workplace/safer-workplace.html

http://www.wcb.mb.ca/prevention-is-the-best-medicine-a-toolkit-for-newcomers-to-manitoba

http://www.wcb.mb.ca/prevention-is-the-best-medicine-a-toolkit-for-newcomers-to-manitoba

http://www.wcb.mb.ca/

http://safemanitoba.com/

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/occup-travail/index-eng.php

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/occup-travail/index-eng.php

http://www.gov.mb.ca/labour/safety/

Appendix 1: Transcript3

October 21, 2013 (broadcast date)Speaker Podcast Line

Marcy Hi I'm Marcy Markusa and you're listening to Learning English

with CBC. It’s hard to forget the images from a fire in a

Bangladesh garment factory several months ago that killed

over 1,100 people. Well there’s a Manitoba connection to that

story. Brad Loewen, a fire protection engineer from Winnipeg,

has been hired to improve building and fire safety in the

Bangladesh garment industry. In this interview, he talks to

CBC reporter Maeghan Ketcheson, about his new job and its

challenges.

5

Meaghan What do you anticipate some of the biggest challenges are

going to be when you are looking over some of those buildings

and the working conditions that people are in?

10

Brad Um I think that the the fire protection part of it, the the factories

for the most part, um y’know, as one can imagine perhaps on

the building part of it, ah just in hearing about the the deaths

that we have particularly in fire, but the collapse as well, but

sticking to fire for a second, the um exiting and getting people

out of there when there safely is an incident is of course

primary to any of course life safety, building concerns being

secondary, but the exiting ah I think is is um from what I

understand, and I think it is pretty obvious just from the news

stories, is sorely lacking. So I think the big challenge will be

both the training, in the sense of understanding the importance

of having protected exits and available exits and early warning

of fires and that sort of thing and then actually getting it done

as far as spending the money and um having the factories

upgraded.

15

20

25

3 For the complete interview or other recent CBC Information Radio podcasts, go to: www.cbc.ca/podcasting/includes/mbinforadio.xml


http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/includes/mbinforadio.xml

Maeghan Now are you just working with the factories or is this is this

going to be with government of Bangladesh in general for it to

come up with standards that that they may maintain or adhere

to?

30

Brad Right. No, it’s a joint effort, actually the ah International Labour

Organization of the UN is very much interested in helping

coordinate the efforts between all of the different initiatives ah

that are going on because, as you can imagine, these latest

disasters have attracted a lot of attention and one of them

being this, ah the brands and unions that signed the accord,

but also the government and other international agencies and

so on. So no, I see a very close relationship with the

government of Bangladesh and with other other organizations

that are also working on the same cause.

35

40

Maeghan When you’ve been seeing the stories about what’s been going

on there and what’s happened in some of the garment

factories, what shocked you the most given what you’re used

to seeing here in Canada? 45

Brad The idea of a building collapsing is rather foreign to ah I think

our ah you know developed world sensibilities, it’s just not

something that happens that often and and um so I think the

idea of an occupied building could collapse like that is rather

shocking.

50


Appendix 2: Winnipegger chosen to improve safety in Bangladesh garment factories4

October 22, 2013 7:36 pm By Megan BatchelorNight Watch Reporter

WINNIPEG — It’s been six months since a garment factory in Bangladesh collapsed, killing thousands. Now a Winnipeg fire protection expert is preparing for his trip there as part of an effort to enforce building code standards.

Brad Loewen started years ago as a volunteer firefighter in Steinbach and in December, he will head to Bangladesh to improve safety for the workers manufacturing clothes for more than 100 name brands.

“Every morning when I wake up I think, ‘Wow, that’s a big task,’ ” he said of being appointed the chief safety inspector for the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. The accord is a five-year agreement between the government, unions and clothing brands.

“It really is just do what I can as one person in a very big picture and to try and improve the working conditions for the garment workers, primarily women and children in Bangladesh,” said Loewen. “It seems to me that some gains, hopefully large, but certainly smaller, are very possible.”

Jenny Holdcroft, policy director for Industriall Global Union, the group that signed the accord on behalf of the workers, said Loewen will form a team of inspectors to enforce the standards set out by the group.

“There’s a massive capacity issue in Bangladesh — there are not enough safety inspectors,” she said. “There is a certain degree of corruption that must also be shed, and there’s many things that can be improved. The safety standards, most experts seem to agree, there is enough that can be worked with there.”

Loewen’s experience as a fire protection engineer and fire inspector helped snag him the role he admits will be challenging.

“We’re in the neighbourhood of somewhere around 1,750 factories and our goal is to have an initial inspection of all those by next summer,” he said. “So we need to be doing about 300 a month for the next six months to achieve that goal.”

4 From Global news online: http://globalnews.ca/news/919414/winnipegger-selected-to-offer-expertise-in-improving-safety-in-bangladeshi-garment-factories/


http://globalnews.ca/author/megan-batchelor/

http://globalnews.ca/news/919414/winnipegger-selected-to-offer-expertise-in-improving-safety-in-bangladeshi-garment-factories/

http://globalnews.ca/news/919414/winnipegger-selected-to-offer-expertise-in-improving-safety-in-bangladeshi-garment-factories/

Answers to Worksheets

Vocabulary

1. d2. h3. m4. o5. a6. l7. c8. r9. b10. f11. n12. g13. q14. k15. i16. e17. j18. p

Listen for Main Ideas and Details

1. T2. F3. T4. T5. F6. F7. T

Rewrite the false statements to make them true statements. (Answers will vary)

2. The fire killed over 1,100 people.5. Brad will be working for a group of organizations in Bangladesh.6. For Brad, the most shocking part of the tragedy was that the building collapsed with so

many workers still inside.


Identify Workplace Hazards

Hazards Possible Injuries Ways to Stay Safe1. a damaged ladder a fall and a broken arm use a ladder in good repair

2. a very heavy item to lift a back injury use a forklift

3. flying pieces of wood/ sawdust from a saw

an eye injury use safety glasses

4. strong chemicals on your hands

chemical burns use protective gloves

5. a high level of noise hearing loss use ear protection

6. particles or dust in the air breathing difficulties wear a mask

Give Advice about Workplace Hazards (Answers will vary)

2. You shouldn’t work beside a noisy machine without ear protection. You should use ear plugs or earmuffs to protect your hearing.

3. You shouldn’t let the sawdust or other particles in the air get in your eyes. You should use goggles to protect your eyes.

4. You shouldn’t lift something so heavy without bending your knees. You should make sure you follow proper lifting guidelines or use a forklift.

5. You shouldn’t wipe down that machine with your bare hands. You should wear gloves to protect yourself from chemical burns.


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