by Mike Martin

David Ellis was bright, athletic and helpful. And at the age of 18, he was killed on the job. Now his father, Rob, has sold his business to tell David’s story – because talking about his death may save another young person’s life.

If your son or daughter is heading out into the workplace this summer to help pay for college or university, or just to earn a few extra bucks; pack one more thing in their lunchbox along with their sandwich and apple: A message from Rob Ellis on behalf of his son David. 

What Rob Ellis would like you to tell your children is that they need to be ready to go to work by asking for help if they don’t understand something, by asking for clarification of work assigned, or by requesting training if needed. Tell your children that their health, safety, and even their lives may depend on it.

On February 11, 1999, Rob Ellis’s life changed forever. On that cold winter morning Rob’s 18-year-old son, David Ellis, left the family home for his second day at work. The night before Rob tried to get his son to talk about his first day on the job. As is typical of most teenagers, not a lot of information was forthcoming. Rob didn’t persist. He didn’t persuade his son to talk about the training he did or did not receive. He respected his son’s silence. To this day he regrets not pushing his son for more information.

David Ellis died on his second day at work in an Oakville, Ontario bakery. He was cleaning dough from an industrial mixer when the machine accidentally activated. David was drawn head first into the mixer. He was taken to hospital and six days later he was dead.

“Parents need to have the courage to speak to their kids about the possible dangers in the workplace, to share their own experiences about working safely” said Mr. Ellis. “We need to transfer our workplace knowledge to the next generation so that they too can survive in the workplace, even if it’s just a part-time or summer job” he said.

Being a young worker can be a very dangerous experience. According to the Industrial Accident Prevention Assoc­iation there is an average of 42 young workers injured or killed on the job every day in Ontario. Last year in Ontario there were 47,000 workplace accidents involving workers aged 15 to 24, 13,000 of which were serious enough to require time off work.

Other provinces don’t do any better when it comes to protecting young workers. Studies from Prince Edward Island show that one in five young Islanders is likely to be injured at work, and further, more than 50% of accidents involving young Island workers occur during the first six months on the job. In Nova Scotia, statistics from the Workers Compensation Board showed an increase in time loss claims of young workers between 1997 and 2002; 4% for males and 20% for females.

Those statistics may be just the tip of the iceberg, according to Rob Ellis. “I believe that the accident or injury rates for young workers are grossly under-reported,” said Mr. Ellis.  “They may be double or triple the official rate but young people are sometimes afraid to report them to the boss because they think they may get into trouble” he said.