Health and Safety Committee Where required a committee will be formed and will meet where required by the Employer’s safety policies and by statute.
Health & Safety Committee The Employer agrees to establish a Health & Safety Committee for all employees of the company under the auspices of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). The Committee shall be made up of an equal number (not less than one each) of non-bargaining unit and bargaining unit persons who have completed their probationary period. The Union has the right to appoint the members representing the bargaining unit. The Committee shall keep minutes of its meetings and post them in the shop. One copy will be forwarded to the Union office.
Health and Safety Committees In order to provide a safe and healthful workplace, local unit level LMCs shall establish Health and Safety Committees. Each committee will be composed of an equal number of representatives appointed by the Union and the Employer and will be co-chaired by a Union and Employer representative. A Union representative must be a member of the unit but either party may be accompanied by staff and/or other subject matter experts who may participate, but not vote, at meetings. Each party shall prepare and submit an agenda to the other party one week prior to any scheduled meeting. If neither party submits an agenda, the meeting shall be canceled. Each committee’s general responsibility will be to provide a safe and healthful workplace by recognizing hazards and recommending the abatement of hazards and educational programs. Each committee will:
1. Meet on an established schedule;
2. arrange periodic inspections to detect, evaluate and offer recommendations for control of potential health and safety hazards;
3. appoint members of the committee to participate in inspections, investigations, or other established health and safety functions to the extent necessary;
4. receive and review a quarterly summary of job-related health and safety reports including accident reports and make appropriate recommendations;
5. investigate all types of employee job-related accidents and all types of occupational illnesses and make recommendations;
6. promote health and safety education;
7. study the use of VDTs and make appropriate recommendations to ensure the health and safety of employees regarding such use;
8. maintain and review minutes of all committee meetings; and
9. review the availability and adequacy of first aid supplies and equipment and address any inadequacies. In cases where summary reports are provided, a committee member may request and receive an individual case file or report. In no case will an employee’s records be provided when the law forbids disclosure. In addition, employees’ names will normally be deleted but may be provided to all committee members in instances where committee members need to know the name(s) of employee(s) to effectively represent the bargaining unit(s) and disclosure of name(s) is not prohibited by law. The Employer may require committee members and union representatives to sign confidentiality statements. Members of each Health and Safety Committee will be paid by the Employer while performing committee duties, including travel time, and will also be paid for any time spent in committee approved training related to health and safety. The Committee will develop an annual training program for its members. Each Health and Safety Committee will establish rules consistent with the above principles. A mechanism to coordinate the efforts of individual Health and Safety Committees will be established at each agency.
Function of Joint Health and Safety Committee All incidents involving aggression or violence shall be brought to the attention of the Joint Health and Safety Committee. The Employer agrees that the Joint Health and Safety Committee shall concern itself with all matters relating to violence to staff.
Joint Health and Safety Committee (a) The Employer and the Union agree that they mutually desire to maintain standards of occupational health and safety in the organization, in order to prevent accidents, injury and illness. The parties agree to promote health and safety throughout the organization. The employer shall provide orientation and training in health and safety to new and current employees on an ongoing basis, and employees shall attend required health and safety training sessions.
(b) Recognizing its responsibilities under the applicable legislation, the Employer agrees to accept as a member of its Joint Health and Safety Committee, at least one representative from the bargaining unit. The number of committee members will be no less than that determined by legislation and the bargaining unit will be entitled to the same membership as any other employee group on the committees. The Union shall notify the employer of their representatives.
(c) Such Committee shall identify potential dangers and hazards, institute means of improving health and safety programs, and recommend actions to be taken to improve conditions related to occupational health and safety.
(d) The Employer agrees to cooperate reasonably in providing necessary information to enable the Committee to fulfill its functions. The Committee shall respect the confidentiality of the information.
(e) The Union agrees to endeavour to obtain the full cooperation of its membership in the observation of all safety rules and practices.
(f) Meetings shall be held every third month or more frequently at the call of either co-chair, if required. The Committee shall keep Minutes of all meetings and make the Minutes available for review.
(g) All time spent by a member of the Joint Health and Safety Committee attending meetings of the Committee and carrying out the members duties, shall be deemed to be time worked for which the member shall be paid by the Employer at the member's applicable rate of pay, and the member shall be entitled to such time from the member's work as necessary for those duties.
(h) The employer shall take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker. [Occupational Health and Safety Act, s. 25
Occupational Health and Safety Committee
(a) The parties agree that a joint occupational health and safety committee will be established. The Committee shall govern itself in accordance with the provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations made pursuant to the Workers Compensation Act. The Committee shall be between the Employer and the Union, with equal representation, and with each party appointing its own representatives. The Union agrees to actively pursue with the other Health Care unions, where more than one union is certified with the Employer, a joint union/employer committee for the purposes of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations.
(b) Employees who are members of the Committee shall be granted leave without loss of pay or receive straight-time regular wages while attending meetings of the Joint Committee. Employees who are members of the Committee shall be granted leave without loss of pay or receive straight-time regular wages to participate in joint workplace inspections and joint accident investigations at the request of the Committee pursuant to the WCB Occupational Health and Safety Regulations. Committee meetings, workplace inspections and accident investigations shall be scheduled during normal working hours whenever practicable.
(c) The Occupational Health and Safety Committee shall have as part of its mandate the jurisdiction to receive complaints or concerns regarding workload problems which are safety-related, the right to investigate such complaints, the right to define the problem and the right to make recommendations for a solution. Where the Committee determines that a safety-related workload problem exists, it shall inform the Employer. Within 21 days thereafter, the Employer shall advise the Committee what steps it has taken or proposes to take to rectify the safety-related workload problem identified by the Committee. If the Union is not satisfied with the Employer's response, it may refer the matter to the Industry Trouble shooter for a written recommendation.
(d) No employee shall be disciplined for refusal to work when excused by the provisions of the
Joint Safety Committee (a) The Union and the Company shall cooperate in selecting one or more Safety Committees, which will meet at least once a month to consider all safety and occupational health problems.
(b) The local Joint Safety Committee shall consist of equal representation from Company and Union. This Committee shall meet at least once a month to consider all safety and occupational health problems.
Accident Prevention Health and Safety Committee (a) The Employer and the Union agree that they mutually desire to maintain standards of safety and health in the workplace in order to prevent accidents, injury and illness.
(b) Recognizing its responsibilities under the applicable legislation, the Employer agrees to accept as a member of its Accident Prevention – Health & Safety Committee at least three (3) representatives, one from each base, selected or appointed by the Union from amongst bargaining unit employees. At any time where a vote is required, an equal number of representatives from each side shall be entitled to vote.
(c) Such Committee shall identify potential dangers and hazards, institute means of improving health and safety programs and recommend actions to be taken to improve conditions related to safety and health.
(d) The Employee agrees to co-operate reasonably in providing necessary information to enable the Committee to fulfill its functions.
(e) Meetings shall be held quarterly or more frequently at the call of the Chair if required. The Committee shall maintain minutes of all meetings and make the same available for review.
(f) Any representative appointed or select in accordance with (b) hereof shall serve a term of one (1) calendar year from the date of appointment which may be renewed for further periods of one (1) year. The Union will encourage its representative(s) to serve at least one (1) year. Time off for such representative(s) to attend meetings of the Accident Prevention – Health & Safety Committee in accordance with the foregoing shall be granted and time so spent attending such meetings shall be deemed to be work time for which the representative(s) shall be paid by the Employer at his regular or premium rate as may be applicable.
(g) The Union agrees to endeavour to obtain the full co-operation of its membership in the observation of all safety rules and practices.
(h) Pregnant employees may request to be transferred from their current duties if, in the professional opinion of the employee’s physician, the pregnancy may be at risk. If such a transfer is not feasible, the pregnant employee, if she so requests, will be granted an unpaid leave of absence before commencement of the maternity leave referred to in Article 16.04
Safety Committee Where a Health and Safety Committee is established on a job in accordance with section 72 of the OHS Act, it shall include the Employer’s Site Safety Supervisor and the Health and Safety Representative/s.
PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY (APPLIES TO RNS ONLY 19.01 The parties agree that resident care is enhanced if concerns relating to professional practice and workload are resolved in a timely and effective manner, as set out below; In the event that the Home assigns a number of residents or a workload to an individual employee or group of employees, such that she or they have cause to believe that she or they are being asked to perform more work than is consistent with proper resident care, she or they shall:
i) At the time the workload issue occurs, discuss the issue within the Home to develop strategies to meet resident care needs using current resources. If necessary, using established lines of communication, seek immediate assistance from an individual(s) identified by the Home who has responsibility for timely resolution of workload issues.
ii) Failing resolution at the time of occurrence of the workload issue, complain in writing to the Union-Management Committee within twenty (20) calendar days of the alleged improper assignment. The chairperson of the Union-Management Committee shall convene a meeting of the Union-Management Committee within twenty (20) calendar days of the filing of the complaint. The Union-Management Committee shall hear and attempt to resolve the complaint to the satisfaction of both parties. The Employer will provide a written response to the Union, with a copy to the ONA representation within ten (10) calendar days.
iii) Prior to the complaint being forwarded to the Independent Assessment Committee, the Union may forward a written report outlining the complaint and recommendations to the Director of Resident Care and/or the Administrator.
iv) At any time during this process, the parties may agree to the use of a mediator to assist in the resolution of the Professional Practice issues.
v) Any settlement arrived at under 19.01 (a) i) – iii) shall be signed by the parties.
vi) Failing resolution of the complaint within twenty (20) calendar days of the meeting of the Union-Management Committee, the complaint shall be forwarded to an independent Assessment Committee composed of three (3) registered nurses; one chosen by the Ontario Nurses' Association, one chosen by the Home and one chosen from a panel of independent registered nurses who are well respected within the profession. The member of the Committee chosen from the panel of independent registered nurses shall act as Chairperson.
vii) The Independent Assessment Committee shall set a date to conduct a hearing into the complaint, within twenty (20) calendar days of its appointment, and shall be empowered to investigate as is necessary to properly assess the merits of the complaint. The Independent Assessment Committee shall report its findings, in writing, to the parties within twenty (20) calendar days following completion of its hearing.
(b) i) The list of Independent Assessment Committee Chairpersons is attached as Appendix “B”. The members of the panel shall sit in rotation as agreed by the parties. If a panel member is unable to sit within the time limit stipulated, the panel member next scheduled to sit will be appointed by the parties.
