Dealing with Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders in the Ontario Clothing Industry
| Principal investigator(s): | Jonathan Eaton (Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees) |
| Co-investigator(s): | Mickey Kerr, Sue Ferrier (Institute for Work & Health); Andrew King (Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers); Eric Frumin, Jennifer Gunning (Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees) |
| Sponsoring Institution: | Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees |
For more information, contact the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees at 416-441-1806 or 1-800-268-4064.
The study is available at http://www.iwh.on.ca/archive/pdfs/ergohandbook.pdf
Results
The results of this study indicate that:
- the combined perceptions of management and worker representatives do not correspond well to external measures of working conditions;
- substantial ergonomic hazards are present throughout the clothing industry;
- management and worker representatives both have positive perceptions of occupational health and safety practices in their workplace, but management representatives’ perceptions are consistently more positive than worker representatives’ perceptions; and
- in spite of the ergonomic hazards identified, the rate of accepted lost-time injuries has declined in recent years.
Positive organizational and/or physical characteristics were identified in every garment plant visited throughout the course of this study. These features ranged from open communication between workers and all levels of management, positive social environments, non-repetitive tasks, ergonomic workstation modifications, and rehabilitation teams. At the same time, however, all workplaces could improve their working conditions through both organizational and physical changes. This study identified several areas that companies of any size could target for improvement including:
- communication;
- involvement of employees in decision making;
- education and training of employees and management regarding work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) and ergonomics; and
- physical ergonomic conditions.
Conclusions
It is clear that WMSD is a major issue in the apparel industry. There is strong scientific evidence to support the work-related nature of these injuries yet individuals continue to accept their problems as a consequence of aging. Even many of those that recognize WMSD as work-related injuries accept them as “just part of the job”.
We should no longer accept this consequence, with the advancements that have been made towards understanding the organizational, psychosocial and physical risk factors for these injuries. With this knowledge these injuries can be prevented. We hope that this report will be used to initiate change in the workplace towards the prevention of WMSD by creating a starting point for discussion and by stimulating ideas on how working conditions can be improved. There are many organizational and physical features of garment plants that can, and should, be targeted to reduce the risk of WMSD for garment workers.
Objectives
The clothing industry is generally viewed to be relatively safe due to the low rates of traumatic industrial accidents. The major health risk in this industry, however, does not arise from immediate, potentially fatal hazards but from more subtle hazards whose effect accumulate over time into what can be very disabling musculoskeletal disorders. Research has found that the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) among sewing machine operators is substantially higher than other occupational groups and the prevalence of persistent neck and shoulder disorders increases with years of employment as a sewing machine operator. One study found that sewing machine operators reported as many disabling repetitive strain injuries as “data entry keyers” and “secretaries” combined. These injuries lead to long-term health effects. This is why we wanted to look at the working conditions that can lead to such high rates of disability for clothing workers.
Research has consistently found that the physical characteristics of the job are an important risk factor for muscle pain and injury. The risks for sewing machine operators have been linked to conditions such as poor workstation design and chairs, and organizational factors such as the piecework system.
Factors, such as repetition, force, posture and vibration are associated with higher rates of injury. But the workstation alone does not provide the key to understanding these injuries. There is growing evidence that other factors are linked to injuries. These include:
- high work pace
- lack of control over the job
- workload
- co-worker support
- the general work environment
Few studies, however, have investigated physical and organizational risk factors at the same time in more than one workplace. And most studies in the clothing industry have focused only on sewing machine operators, leaving out workers in other jobs.
The purpose of this study was to document and describe the current work conditions throughout the clothing industry. Our goal was to identify good practices that are currently in use in the industry, and to share these practices so that injuries can be reduced.
Methods
This project was a collaborative effort by the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE), the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) and the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW).
This research project was conducted in three phases. The first phase was a review of lost-time injury claims for the clothing industry in Ontario over a six-year period (1993-1998). The second phase was the completion of a questionnaire on work organization characteristics by one union representative and one management representative at each participating plant. The final phase was an assessment of ergonomic conditions in the plants. Two trained ergonomists conducted assessments of jobs in the cutting, assembly, pressing and finishing departments in each plant. Twenty-nine unionized clothing manufacturers participated in the study.
Publications
Gunning J., Eaton J., Ferrier S., Frumin E., Kerr M., King A., and Maltby J., Ergonomic Handbook for the Clothing Industry. Toronto: Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees, 2001.
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