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.
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
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.
PROCUREMENT LOBBYING To the extent this agreement is a "procurement contract" as defined by State Finance Law Sections 139-j and 139-k, by signing this agreement the contractor certifies and affirms that all disclosures made in accordance with State Finance Law Sections 139-j and 139-k are complete, true and accurate. In the event such certification is found to be intentionally false or intentionally incomplete, the State may terminate the agreement by providing written notification to the Contractor in accordance with the terms of the agreement.
WORKPLACE SAFETY AND INSURANCE BOARD Clause 14.01
(a) When a probationary or regular employee, through employment with the Employer, suffers an injury or disability, or a recurrence of an injury or disability, the Employer shall pay the employee an amount, when combined with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board payment, equals the employee’s regular wage less deductions required by law, for a period of nine (9) months from the first day of absence.
(b) Pending receipt of payment from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, an employee shall receive advances up to the amount of the employee’s regular wage rate, less income tax deductions and shall continue to receive their regular wage rate during the period of absence up to nine (9) months provided that:
i. the employee will make reasonable effort to ensure prompt completion of necessary forms and information required to receive approval of Workplace Safety and Insurance Board payment;
ii. the employee will be expected to fully participate in alternate work, if recommended, by the employee’s medical doctor;
iii. the employee’s claim has not been disallowed by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, and;
iv. the employee agrees in writing, to sign over to the Employer the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board payments.
(a) The Employer shall continue to pay for a period of time not to exceed thirty (30) months from the first day of an injury or disability, the premium cost for health and insurance benefits as covered by Clauses 16.03 and 16.04.
(b) Should an employee return to work from an injury or disability for a period of six (6) continuous months and subsequently suffers a recurrence of an injury or disability, then the provisions of Clauses 14.02(a) and 14.03(a) shall apply.
(c) Notwithstanding Clause 14.02(b), if an employee having ceased to be disabled returns to work and again becomes disabled from the same or related cause within six (6) months, it would be considered as one (1) continuous period of disability as per Clauses 14.02(a) and 14.03(a).
(a) For a period of up to thirty (30) months from the first day of injury or disability, the employee shall be eligible to return to their same position classification if capable of performing the required work. If unable to perform the required work, the employee shall be given all reasonable consideration for any available job for which the employee is able and qualified to perform.
(b) Notwithstanding Part (a), if any employee’s position is declared redundant while on WSIB leave, the employee upon their return shall exercise normal bumping procedures as per Article 8.
STUDENT DISCIPLINE AND TEACHER PROTECTION A. The Board recognizes its responsibility to give all reasonable support and assistance to teachers with respect to the maintenance of control and discipline in the classroom. Whenever it appears that a particular pupil requires the attention of special counselors, social workers, law enforcement personnel, physicians, or other professional persons, the principal shall be notified. The Board feels that the teacher and the specialists indicated above should work together to improve the case.
B. It is recognized that discipline problems are less likely to occur in classes where a high level of student interest is maintained. It is likewise recognized that when discipline problems occur, they may most constructively be dealt with by encouragement, praise and emphasis upon a child’s desirable characteristics. A teacher may use such force as is necessary, according to the law, to protect himself/herself from attack or to prevent injury to another student.
C. A teacher may ask the principal to exclude a pupil from class when the grossness of the offense, the persistence of the misbehavior, or the disruptive effect of the violation makes the continued presence of the student in the classroom intolerable. In such cases, the teacher will furnish the principal, as promptly as his/her teaching obligations will allow, full particulars of the incident in writing.
D. Procedure for suspension of students from school shall be distributed to students and teachers each year.
E. Any case of assault upon a teacher while on duty should be promptly reported to the Board or its designated representative. The Board will provide legal counsel to advise the teacher of his/her rights and obligations with respect to such assault and shall promptly render all reasonable assistance to the teacher in connection with handling of the incident by law enforcement and judicial authorities.
F. If any teacher is complained against or sued as a result of any action taken by the teacher while in pursuit of his/her employment, the Board may provide legal counsel and render all necessary assistance to the teacher in his/her defense.
G. Time lost by a teacher in connection with any incident mentioned in this Article shall not be charged against the teacher.
X. The Board will reimburse teachers for any loss, damages or destruction of clothing or personal property of the teacher while on duty in the school or on school premises in those cases where the school could have reasonably prevented the loss.
I. No action shall be taken upon any complaint by a parent of the student directed toward the teacher nor shall any notice thereof be included in said teacher’s personnel file unless such matter is promptly reported in writing to the teacher concerned.
J. Teachers shall be expected to exercise reasonable care with respect to the safety of pupils and property, but shall not be individually liable, except in the case of gross neglect of duty, for any damage or loss to person or property.
Workplace Safety Insurance 20.1 Each member covered by this Agreement who is absent on account of injuries received while on duty and who is receiving a pension, salary or wage award from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board shall be entitled to be paid the difference between the pension wage and salary award from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and his or her current net salary as long as such member remains in the employ of the Niagara Police Board. This shall be applied such that the combination of any WSIB salary or wage award plus the employer top-up shall, in total, equal the net pay of the member's current salary. The non- economic loss portion of any WSIB pension payments shall not be considered as being a salary or wage award, and hence shall not form part of these calculations. Any member who does not comply with the provisions of the Workplace Safety & Insurance Act or Regulations thereto and subsequently receives a salary or wage award or an amount less than the prevailing maximum payable, due to such non-compliance, shall not receive from the Niagara Police Board the difference between the wage or salary award paid by the Workplace Safety & Insurance Board and his or her current net salary. For the purpose of this Clause, net pay shall be the pay for the rank of the member as shown in Appendix "A" less those deductions required under Government Statutes, pension plans and as provided for in this Agreement.
20.2 Subject to the terms of this Article, each member covered by this Agreement who is injured as a result of carrying out his/her duties shall not be deprived of his/her vacations or statutory holidays as a result thereof, and shall accumulate such vacation credits and statutory holidays as he/she might otherwise receive.
20.2.1 Each member shall be entitled to accumulate the float time that he/she might otherwise receive for a period of three (3) months following the injury.
20.2.2 In respect of members who have been off work and receiving WSIB benefits for less than two
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.
PREVAILING WAGE RATES - PUBLIC WORKS AND BUILDING SERVICES CONTRACTS If any portion of work being Bid is subject to the prevailing wage rate provisions of the Labor Law, the following shall apply:
COMPLIANCE WITH OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH By submission of a bid in response to this solicitation, the Bidder certifies that all material, equipment, etc., contained in their bid meets all OSHA requirements. Bidder further certifies that if they are the awarded Contractor, and the material, equipment, etc., delivered is subsequently found to be deficient in any OSHA requirements in effect on date of delivery, all costs necessary to bring the material, equipment, etc., into compliance with the aforementioned requirements shall be borne by the Contractor.
