Programs for Integrating New Workers into Quebec Mining Companies: Formal Structure and In-the-Field Adaptations

Abstract

Faced with fluctuating production marked by high-demand periods, as well as worker retirement and worker migration to other industries, the mining industry is experiencing massive hiring needs at a time when there is a shortage of trained and experienced workers. Compounding these problems of workforce availability are labour planning practices usually designed to “maximize production and minimize costs in response to immediate pressures” [1]. Moreover, OHS issues are prominent in this sector, where the frequency rate for compensated work-related injuries was 2.3 times higher than the average for Québec companies for the 2005–2007 period [2]. At the request of the Joint Health and Safety Association, Mining Sector, a field study was conducted to document the conditions conducive to the safe and secure integration of new workers, the problems encountered, and possible avenues for improvement. This paper presents the formal integration programs implemented in the companies studied and the adaptations made during their application in the field.