Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee The Employer and the Union recognize the role of the joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee in promoting a safe and healthful workplace. The parties agree that a Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee shall be established for each Employer covered by this Collective Agreement. The Committee shall govern itself in accordance with the provisions of the Industrial Health and Safety Regulations made pursuant to the Workers’ Compensation Act. The Committee shall be as between the Employer and the Union, with equal representation, and with each party appointing its own representatives. Representatives of the Union shall be chosen by the Union membership or appointed by the Union. All minutes of the meetings of the Joint Occupational Health & Safety Committee will be recorded in a mutually agreeable format and will be sent to the Union. The Union further agrees to actively pursue with the other Health Care Unions a Joint Union Committee for the purposes of this Article. The Employer agrees to provide or cause to be provided to Employer members of the Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee adequate training and orientation to the duties and responsibilities of committee members to allow the incumbents to fulfil those duties competently. The Union agrees to provide or cause to be provided to Union members of the Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee adequate training and orientation to the duties and responsibilities of committee members to allow the incumbents to fulfil those duties competently. Such training and orientation shall take place within six (6) months of taking office.
Infectious Diseases The Employer and the Union desire to arrest the spread of infectious diseases in the nursing home. To achieve this objective, the Joint Health and Safety Committee may review and offer input into infection control programs and protocols including surveillance, outbreak control, isolation, precautions, worker education and training, and personal protective equipment. The Employer will provide training and ongoing education in communicable disease recognition, use of personal protective equipment, decontamination of equipment, and disposal of hazardous waste.