Considering the territory has one of the worst workplace safety records in Canada, Yukoners need to seriously reconsider the practice of letting young children work, a labour official has said.

Alex Furlong, president of the Yukon Federation of Labour (YFL), said this morning he doesn't feel Yukon workplaces are offering a safe environment for his or any other children to work at.

'Why do we allow them to go to work in unsafe working conditions?' he asked.

'Why are (children) afraid to question unsafe work practices?' Furlong asked at a media conference this morning.

This morning's conference was to promote the Return to Work symposium being hosted by the YFL and the Yukon Chamber of Commerce at the Yukon Inn today and tomorrow.

Furlong said he believes young workers need to know the place where they get jobs is safe.

'They (parents) need to be sure that that workplace has the proper health and safety practices to ensure that their child is going home.

'Right now, we don't have the solution; we need to start looking very seriously at it because there will be a severe injury or fatality involving a young person in this territory,' he said.

'We want people on board before that happens.'

Earlier this month, Valerie Royle, president and CEO of the Yukon Workers Compensation Health and Safety Board (WCB), announced that injury rates to workers under the age of 25 are up by 20 per cent this year over 2006's figures.

As of Sept. 6, according to the WCB, 239 of the 1,295 reported injuries at that time were from young people.

The ages of those reporting injuries in other age groups, as of Sept. 6, included:

256 people between 25 and 34;

266 people between 35 and 44;

336 people between 45 and 54;

ï155 people between 55 and 64;

24 over the age of 65; and

19 where the age had not been determined.

Rachel Parks, Bringing Youth Towards Equality's executive director, said earlier this month she wanted to see youth stand up for themselves in workplaces more.

She said she felt it's important for all young people to know their rights in the workplace and to understand they have the right to say no to unsafe situations.

'Proceed with caution. You don't always have to do what you're being told.

'Youth need to be educated, they need to be sure that their employers are setting them up for success,' Parks said.

'If they're being put into unsafe situations, they're not being set up for success.'

Royle said the WCB will work in cooperation with the Department of Education to try to make young people more aware of safety and their rights.

'We're looking at education and we're looking at the curriculum in the school, we're actively involved in that. We're planning a campaign for next year,' she said.

'First thing is to get the general public to know is that there is a huge issue out there with regards to young workers' safety.

'(Young people) are eager to please; they don't question what is being said. They need demonstration, they need employers to treat them differently.'