Occupational Health and Safety Committees

1. Occupational Health and Safety Committees Joint Training Initiative

2. Introduction • Your name? • Your workplace? • Member of OHS Committee for how long? • Your role as a committee member? • Previous OHS training or experience?

3. To provide participants with a clear understanding of workplace committee’s members duties in order to be able to effectively perform those duties to reduce or eliminate workplace hazards. Action Objective

4. Learning Objective • a) Participants will be able to understand the purpose and legal requirement of Policy and Workplace committees (including Representatives) under the NT/NU Acts

5. Learning Objectives • b) Participants will be able to assume the functions and responsibilities of workplace committees

6. Learning Objective • c) Participants will be able to will be able to use effective communication methods to render their committee efficient

7. Learning Objectives • d) Participants will be able to develop and implement a work plan aiming at the reduction, elimination and control of workplace hazards

9. Legislative Framework • This module will introduce the concept of Occupational Health and Safety Laws and Regulations: Understanding and interpreting laws and regulations is essential for workplace health and safety committee members.

10. Legislative Framework • ACT: • State general duties, requirements and principles • REGULATIONS: • Provide specific rules for many circumstances • Cannot exceed the general authority of the ACT

11. Reading Legislation • Punctuation: • And vs. Or • May vs. Shall • As prescribe: as prescribed in Regulation

12. Reading Legislation • 157. (3) (b) (i) • 157: section • (3): subsection • (b): paragraph • (i): subparagraph

13. Legislative Framework • Canada Labour Code, Part II (For Federal Workers) • NT/NU Occupational Safety and Health Regulations • Criminal Code

14. Legislative Framework • Collective Agreements • Corporate Policies, Codes of Practice, Guidelines, Workplace Procedures

15. NT/NU WSCC ACTS • Those members who do not fall the under the Canada Code are covered by our Acts which have similar, if not in some cases higher more stringent regulations.

16. WSCC General Safety Regulations Overview of Sections in the Northwest and Nunavut Territorial WSCC Acts

17. WSCC General Safety Regulations • Part I – INTERPRETATION • Definitions of some of the terms used throughout the regulations • PART II – Personal Protective Equipment

18. WSCC • Part 1 • Interpretation. 1(1) • Application. 2 • Accident Prevention. 3 (a-h)

19. WSCC General Safety Act • PART III – First Aid Service Requirements • PART IV – Office Safety

20. WSCC General Safety Regulations • PART V – Construction and Maintenance • Schedules of Threshold levels

21. WSCC General Safety Regulations • Program. 4-37 • Accident prevention program. 4-8 • Instructions to Workers. 9-10 • Equipment and Work Process. 11-12 • Improper Conduct. 13 • Persons Working Alone. 14 • Impaired Persons. 15-16

22. WSCC Safety Regulations • Entry and Exit from Work Areas. 17 • Illumination. 18-19 • Restricted Visibility. 20 • Housekeeping. 23-29 • Noise Hazards. 30-31 • Radiation Hazards. 32-34 • Reporting of Accidents. 35 • Confined spaces. 36-37

23. WSCC Part 111 Personal Protective Equipment • General. 38-40 • Foot ware. 41-42 • Headgear.43- 45 • Hand Protection.46- 47 • Eye Protection. 48-50 • Flotation. 51 • Ventilation. 52-54 • Respiratory. 55-56 • Safety Belts Harnesses, Lanyards and Lifelines. 57-59

24. WSCC Part IV Office Safety • Employers Responsibility. 80 • Work Areas. 81-87

25. WSCC General Safety Act • Construction and Maintenance • Safe Building Construction. 88 • Handrails and Guard rails. 89-96 • Guards and Protective Guards. 97-139 • Maintenance of Machinery and Equipment 141-149 • Miscellaneous Requirement. 150-153 • Welding and Burning. 154-167 • Explosive actuated tools. 168-199 • Mobile Equipment. 200-214 • Rollover Protection Structures. 215-242

26. WSCC General Safety RegulationsPART V continued • Transporting Materials. 243-245 • Ladders. 246-259 • Stages and Scaffolding. 260-327 • Trestles. 328-344 • Boatswains Chairs. 345-348 • Work on roofs. 349-352 • Construction Procedures. 353-361 • Industrial chimney and Hoists. 362-378 • Electrical Installations. 379

27. Legislative Recourse OVERVIEW • Overview of the Legislation that covers all workers in the NWT/NU

28. Need to Know You need to: • know the laws your co-workers, and your employer must follow; • know your legal rights in the workplace; and • know what to do if you are in an unsafe work situation.

29. What is Workplace Health and Safety Legislation? The main laws concerning workplace health and safety are: • NWT andNU Safety Acts and Regulations; • NWT andNU Mine Health and Safety Acts and Regulations; • Canada Labour Code;

30. Legislation • NWT Employment Standards and NU Labour Standards Act; • NWT and NU Human Rights Acts; and • Regulations covering Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) Most laws in Canada are called Acts.

31. The NWT and NU Safety Acts and Regulations The Acts set out the basic rights and responsibilities of both workers and employers and include the: • right to know about workplace hazards; • right to participate in workplace health and safety; and • right to refuse any unsafe work.

32. The NWT and NU Safety Acts and Regulations continued… Other areas covered by the Safety Acts are: • Duty of Employer; • Duty of Worker; • Joint Worksite Occupational Health and Safety Committees;

33. The NWT and NU Safety Acts and Regulations continued… • Offences by employers, workers and the penalties imposed. • Powers and duties of WSCC Safety Officers;

34. The NWT and NU Safety Acts and Regulations continued… The Regulations cover broad subjects like: • Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System; • Environmental tobacco smoke; • Personal protective clothing and equipment; • Incident reporting; • First Aid service requirements; • Office safety; and • Construction and maintenance.

35. What happens if the Safety Acts and Regulations aren’t followed? If a WSCC Safety Officer finds an employer or worker not following the ActsandRegulations, they have the power to: • order them to comply with the law; • issue a stop work order; and/or • begin legal proceedings.

36. What happens if the Safety Acts and Regulations aren’t followed? continued… Employer, supervisor, or manager: • fined up to $500,000 and/or • imprisoned for up to 1 year Worker: • fined up to $50,000 and/or • imprisoned for up to 6 months Condoned: • if a worker knew about an offence and didn’t report it, they can be fined up to $25,000 and/or • imprisoned for up to 1 month

37. Harassment Protection POLICIES, GUIDELINES AND LEGAL PROVISIONS THAT PROVIDE US WITH THE RIGHT TO AN HARASSMENT-FREE WORKPLACE

38. NWT Human Rights Acthttp://nwthumanrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/NWT-Human-Rights-Act-2009.pdf Prohibited Grounds of Discrimination  5. (1) For the purposes of this Act, the prohibited grounds of discrimination are race, colour, ancestry, nationality, ethnic origin, place of origin, creed, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, family status, family affiliation, political belief, political association, social condition and a conviction for which a pardon has been granted

39. NWT Human Rights Acthttp://nwthumanrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/NWT-Human-Rights-Act-2009.pdf Employment 7. (1) No person shall, on the basis of a prohibited ground of discrimination, (a) refuse to employ or refuse to continue to employ an individual or a class of individuals; or (b) discriminate against any individual or class of individuals in regard to employment or any term or condition of employment.

40. NWT Human Rights Acthttp://nwthumanrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/NWT-Human-Rights-Act-2009.pdf Harassment Harassment 14. (1) No person shall, on the basis of a prohibited ground of discrimination, harass any individual or class of individuals (a) in the provision of goods, services, facilities or accommodation; (b) in the provision of commercial premises or residential accommodation; or (c) in matters related to employment.

41. NWT Human Rights Acthttp://nwthumanrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/NWT-Human-Rights-Act-2009.pdf (2) In subsection (1), "harass", in respect of an individual or class of individuals, means engage in a course of vexatious comment or conduct that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome by the individual or class

42. Collective Agreement Article 32.01 Discrimination The Employer and the Union agree that there shall be no discrimination, interference, restriction, harassment or coercion exercised or practiced with respect to any employee by reason of age sex, race, colour, creed, national or ethnic origin, marital status, family status, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, conviction for which a pardon has been granted, religious or political affiliation, or any other grounds proscribed by applicable legislation, by reason of Union membership or activity, nor by exercising their rights under the collective Agreement.

43. Collective Agreement Article 51 Sexual Harassment 51.01 …Every employee has the right to freedom from harassment in the workplace because of sex by his/her Employer or agent of the Employer or by another employee.

44. Collective Agreement Article 40 Safety and Health 40.01 …The Employer shall continue to make all reasonable provisions for the occupational safety and health of employees…

45. NWT and NU Safety Acts and Regulations The duty of the employer is to: a)Maintain the workplace so the health and safety of workers and others is not likely to be endangered; b)Take all reasonable precautions, and adopt and carry out all reasonable techniques and procedures to ensure the health and safety of every person in the workplace;

46. NWT and NU Safety Acts and Regulations The Duty of the worker is to: a) Take all reasonable precautions to ensure his or her own safety and the safety of other persons in the workplace.

47. NWT NU Workers’ Compensation Act Policy 03.09 – Psychiatric and Psychological Disability – outlines how the WCB will accept and compensate for claims for psychiatric and psychological disability. A worker may experience an event or series of events which leads to mental stress and psychiatric or psychological disability. The event must satisfy criteria of work-relatedness, trauma and objective verification. To be compensable, the psychiatric or psychological disability must result from physical or emotional reactions to workplace trauma and be diagnosed by a psychiatrist or psychologist.

48. NWT NU Workers’ Compensation Act Work-related traumatic events do not include the usual pressures and tensions reasonably expected by the nature of the worker’s occupation and duties. Section 12(b) of the Workers’ Compensation Act states that no person is entitled to compensation for mental stress arising out of labour relations between the worker and employer, including mental stress caused by wrongful dismissal, unless the act or omission was made with intent to harm the worker.

49. GNWT Harassment Free and Respectful Workplace Policy Scope 1) This Policy applies to every employee in the public service of the GNWT, except the NWT Power Corp. The Policy applies to workplace harassment that occurs at or away from the work place during or outside working hours within the context of the employment relationship. 2) This policy and resolution process does not apply to complaints from clients or public …

50. GNWT Harassment Free and Respectful Workplace Policy Policy Statement The GNWT recognizes the diversity of the Northwest Territories’ public service and is committed to providing work environment where every employee is treated with fairness, dignity and respect. …