By Zahir Muslun

Friend of Yorkton murder victim wants staffing rule changes

Jul 11, 2011 | 6:06 PM

Aaron Nagy, childhood friend of slain Yorkton gas station attendant, Jimmy Ray Wiebe, is passing around a petition he hopes will ensure employees never work alone.

Wiebe, 50, was found dead June 20 after a robbery at a Yorkton gas station. He was working the nightshift alone.

Nagy’s petition calls for businesses to staff at least two people per shift at all times. He hopes this would prevent a similar tragedy in the futre.

“If you're just one person planning to come try to rob a store, and you see two people working, you're going to think twice,” said Nagy.

Nagy believes a rule change would come with benefits besides security from theft.

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“There's other safeguards that you can use as well. For example, if someone is having a heart attack, or if they're having a stroke, or if you're working alone and you're choking on a hot dog or something… you can't make the phone call yourself,” said Nagy.

Marilyn Braun-Pollon, provincial affairs director with Canadian Federation of Independent Business, points to a US study that says an extra worker won’t ensure safety.

“Having two employees working late at night doesn't actually decrease the risk of incidents, and so there was no clear evidence of increased safety with two clerks over one clerk,” said Braun-Pollon.

She said businesses may struggle paying for more than one employee per shift, but there are alternatives.

“There are some examples of where Alberta has a working alone safely booklet, and that provides a number of tips and some questions of how to improve safety in the workplace. There's a checklist for employers to look at those hazards and build on a safety plan suitable for their workplace need,” said Braun-Pollon.

As of Monday, 694 people have signed the petition. Nagy is looking for as many signatures as possible.

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