Sept 11, 2023 – Sept 17, 2023
Chapter 1 – Introduction to Occupational Health and Safety – Week 1
Learning Objectives
LO1 – Explain how occupational health and safety affects us all
LO2 – Define occupational health and safety, occupational injury, and occupational illness
LO3 – Describe the financial and social costs associated with occupational injuries and illnesses
LO4 – Discuss the development of modern models of health and safety management
LO5 – List and describe the roles of the major stakeholders in occupational health and safety
LO6 – Explain the connection between human resource management and occupational health and safety
LO7 – Describe the links between human resource practices and occupational health and safety
What is Occupational Health and Safety?
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Most of us go to work expecting to return home in the same condition when we left, but not
always the case
o Workplace incidents occur with consequences that range from minor property damage
to death
o Sometimes the link between an injury or illness and the workplace is not immediately
evident
 Ex. a bartender who suffers noise-induced hearing loss after years of working, or
a retired firefighter who develops leukemia
The goal of an organization’s health and safety program is to reduce occupational injuries and
illnesses
Terminology
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Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S): the recognition, assessment, and control of hazards
associated with the work environment
Occupational Injury: any cut, fracture, sprain, or amputation resulting from a workplace accident
Occupational Illness: any abnormal condition or disorder caused by exposure to environmental
factors associated with employment
OH&S Statistics
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In Canada, construction, manufacturing, and transportation are the most dangerous industries in
terms of workplace fatalities
People may face injuries serious enough where they can miss time from work
Lost-time Injury: a workplace injury that results in the employee missing time from work
Sept 11, 2023 – Sept 17, 2023
Historical Development of Modern Occupational Health and Safety
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Ancient Egypt  stonemasons and potters experienced respiratory problems
Technological advancement resulted in cases of vomiting, skin diseases, liver degeneration, high
fever, coughing, headaches, lung cancer etc.
Industrial revolution  machinists who were exposed to these oils and had poor personal
hygiene resulted in serious skin diseases
Mechanized spinning and weaving industries became exposed to dust from hemp and flax which
resulted in Brown Lung
Brown Lung: a disease of the lungs caused by excessive inhalation of dust
Changing Perspectives on Risk and Liability
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Occupational illness and injury used to be considered exclusively workers’ problem
Assumption of Risk: the belief that a worker accepted the risks of employment when he/she
accepted the job
Employers were not responsible for providing compensation to injured workers unless the
accident was solely the fault of the employer
There was belief that occupational injuries were caused by worker carelessness
Accident Proneness: the assumption that some individuals were inherently more likely to be
involved in accidents than others, as a result of individual characteristics, therefore, most
workplace accidents were caused by a small proportion of workers
modern beliefs now recognize that enhancing occupational health and safety requires
cooperation among multiple stakeholders, such as governments, employers, and employees
Developments in Canadian Legislation and OH&S Programs
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Royal Commission on the Relations of Capital and Labour in Canada had an important influence
on the development of health and safety regulations
o Commissioners made several recommendations for improving health and safety by
establishing standards and mandating regular inspections
o Commissioners were first to recommend a system for compensating victims of industrial
accidents, regardless of who was at fault
o The commissioners recommended a labour bureau be created to oversee these activities
1960’s and 1970’s; implementation of the Canada Labour (Standards) Code and the Canada
Labour (Safety) Code
o Three principal rights of workers
 The right to refuse dangerous work without penalty
 The right to participate in identifying and correcting health and safety problems
 The right to know about hazards in the workplace
1988 WHMIS (Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System)
Sept 11, 2023 – Sept 17, 2023
Imperatives for Health and Safety
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Employers, employees, and the public should care about occupational health and safety for
economic, legal, and moral reasons
Economic Considerations
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A firm’s value can decrease with increasing worker injury rates
Other costs to the employer can include work stoppages and/or labour strikes due to unsafe
working conditions
Indirect cost example is negative publicity when a death, accident, or serious health problem
becomes public
Global economic costs of workplace injuries and illnesses account for 4% of the world’s GDP
Evidence that workplace injuries are not accurately reported
Workplace injury statistics are tracked by Workers’ Compensation Board, and do not include
injuries experienced by those not covered by workers’ compensation
The available occupational injury statistics do not adequately capture the extent of illnesses that
are caused or are made worse by exposure to workplace conditions
When employers are not concerned about the health and safety of their employees, it affects
other employers and taxpayers
o Workers’ compensation rates are determined by industry sector and a negligent
employer can force others to pay higher rates
o Unsafe working conditions cause insurance premiums to escalate and health
expenditures to increase
Legal Considerations
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Every worker has a legal right to safe working conditions under OH&S acts
o The Occupational Health and Safety Act of Ontario
 Section 25(2)h requires an employer to “take every precaution reasonable in the
circumstances for the protection of a worker”
Due Diligence: An expected standard of conduct that requires employers to take every
reasonable precaution to ensure safety
o Requires a business to foresee all unsafe conditions or acts and requires it to take
precautions to prevent accidents that can reasonably be anticipated
Moral Considerations
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Employers have a moral obligation to employees and their families to provide the safest working
environment possible
o Management commitment to health and safety results in higher levels of employee
motivation to work safely and better organizational safety records
Employees have a moral responsibility to learn about health and safety, to follow recommended
workplace practices, and to be alert and responsible
Sept 11, 2023 – Sept 17, 2023
The Stakeholders
Identifying Stakeholders in Occupational Health and Safety
GOVERNMENTS
Organized Labour/ Unions
Contractors
Families
EMPLOYERS
Supervisors, managers, and
senior-level executives
Public organizations (ex.
workers’ compensation boards)
Communities
EMPLOYEES
Occupational health and safety
professionals
Industry-specific OHS
associations (ex. farm safety
organizations, construction
safety groups)
Health care providers
Government
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Workmen’s Compensation Act (1914)
o Provided lost-time wages to almost every injured worker
After WWI, the federal and other provincial and territorial governments began to enact
legislation to protect workers
o Two main goals
 To ensure that injured workers received compensation and that employers
accepted liability
 To prevent accidents and illness by establishing safe work environments
Internal Responsibility System (IRS): The system of shared responsibility for health and safety
that is the basis for most Canadian OH&S legislation
Besides passing legislation, governments solicit or conduct research on health and safety issues
and widely spread information
Employers
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Managers have means and authority to monitor the workplace and to ensure compliance with
safe practices
Employer is responsible for:
o preparing a written OH&S policy that is displayed in the workplace
o providing and maintaining equipment, materials, and protective devices
o ensuring that work is performed safely, and that the environment is free from hazards
and serious risks
o monitoring the workplace and reporting minor, critical, disabling, fatal injuries,
occupational illnesses and toxic substances
o establishing health and safety committees with strong employee representation
o providing employees with health and safety training
Employees
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employees are required to:
o perform their duties and tasks in a safe and responsible manner
o wear protective equipment in compliance with company and legislative regulations
o report defective equipment and other workplace hazards
any employees who believe that a task will endanger them or others have the right to refuse
Sept 11, 2023 – Sept 17, 2023
Organized Labour
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union participates in the joint occupational health and safety committee
unions bring emerging problems and issues in health and safety to the attention of government
and employers, and pressure other stakeholders to take corrective action
unions also use the collective bargaining process to incorporate health and safety provisions
Barriers
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Commonly reported barriers to the implementation of OH&S programs:
o perceived bureaucracy
o time pressures
o prioritization of production over safety
o disconnect between the general medical establishment and the workplace
Partnerships
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ways to overcome barriers to the implementation of OH&S programs:
o form alliances among OH&S stakeholders
 employers, employees, and unions have the same goal: the reduction of injuries
and illnesses
o stakeholders cooperate to promote safety
 workers’ compensation boards partner with industry safety associations to share
data and work to reduce certain types of injuries
Occupational Health and Safety Professionals
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way to develop an effective OH&S program is to employ health and safety professionals
o holds the Canadian Registered Safety Professionals (CRSPs) designation
various types of safety and health experts may be hired or consulted
The Role of Human Resources
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The three Es: A traditional approach to occupational health and safety that emphasized
engineering, education, and enforcement
o Engineering solutions ensured safe work environments, equipment, and personal
protective devices
o Occupational health and safety professionals were tasked with educating supervisors
and employers in the use of the equipment
o Health and safety programs focused on enforcing existing regulations and practices
Occupational health and safety is almost exclusively “managed” under the human resource
function
Safety is Integrated in Other Human Resource Functions
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Safety is a people issues, and effective safety programs depend on building people’s skills,
abilities, and motivation for safety
Failures to promote safety or negative climate of safety in a workplace can carry direct
implications for work outcomes such as stress and turnover, traditional areas of HR concern
Sept 11, 2023 – Sept 17, 2023
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Individuals who fear job loss are more likely to cut corners, ignore safety rules, and work
unsafely
Performance based pay systems have been associated with increased injury rates while the
implementation of teams may be associated with reduced injuries
Safety Requires Legislative Compliance
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Numerous standards and requirements are imposed on employers to maintain workplace safety
HR professionals already ensure compliance with other areas of labour law (employment equity,
humans rights legislation)
Safety Decreases Costs
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Workers’ compensation premiums, long-term disability coverage, sick-time provisions, and
health plans all add to the costs of doing business
HR responsible for ensuring costs are minimized
HR has a role to ensure that the benefits an organization pays for are used more effectively to
help injured workers and ensure a prompt return to health and to work