And people in our own industry want more regulation here... Ha!
That's just what we need, another bureaucracy to issue "chainsaw tickets" and of course more government employees to oversee the government assistance program to obtain said tickets.
Not knocking you for posting buddy and I wish you well. I just hope all the folks here asking for more regulation and government oversight will see where it can end up.
Better not fire up that 361 comrade, big brother is watching...
You don't see it, but it's coming. Chainsaw tickets or certification will be required by your worker compensation insurance carriers. In many places, such as BC, this happens to be a government agency. Thus the better trained the people are, the fewer injuries the insurance provider has to pay for. How do you prove training? Through certification.
If you are unemployed, what is a good way to better your opportunity for employment get training and certification. Here in BC, you need to have certification for several 'jobs', such as first aid, fork lift operation.
We now have faller certification that is mandated by Worksafe BC (the worker compensation insurance agency). No employee on the job can fall a tree greater than 8" diameter without certification. Certified Utility arborists automatically get certification due to their apprenticeship. Other arborists can challenge the exam based on experience (costs $1200 to challenge the exam). The full course costs mega $. I've heard rumours between $10 and 25K but don't have confirmation.
Why was this done? It was due to a large number of deaths in the forest industry a few years ago. The government was pressured into doing something to prevent further deaths, so it set up a Forest Safety Board in conjunction to Worksafe BC. After years of fighting and negotiation, arborists are now being brought under this umbrella, primarily because there is no regional trade organization that can lobby on behalf of the arborist community.
The takehome message, in my opinion, is that if the industry doesn't do a good job of managing safety on its own, then the politicians will see it as their 'duty' to make your job safer.
