Maureen Hynes
The School of Labour
416 415 5000 x 2549 mhynes@gbrownc.on.ca

Outcomes
By the end of the workshop, you will be able to:
 Name and explain the laws that cover your health & safety in the workplace
 Demonstrate understanding of your three main rights for workplace health & safety
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Identify your health & safety responsibilities as a worker
Identify the employer’s responsibilities

Young people on the job
Stats show a clear link between experience and safety:
 Young people (between 15-24) are 35% more likely than older workers to get injured on the job
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Over 15,000 young workers are injured, killed or made ill yearly in Ontario (that’s over
40 a day!)
In 2000, 16 young workers were killed in Ontario
Half of all workplace deaths occur in the employee’s first month

What’s dangerous work?
Where do most injuries occur?
 Construction sites
 Factories
 Service industry (hotels, bars, restaurants, stores, supermarkets)
 Health care
 Office work

Why do young workers have a higher injury rate?
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Usually no supervision when young workers are injured
Because employers think they aren’t permanent, they don’t train young workers, or just give them a quick training
Young workers don’t know the hazards, the laws, the employer’s responsibilities and their own
Young workers are often anxious to please
Young workers take more risks
Some young workers have a sense of “invincibility” – it could never happen to me

Canada’s rank internationally
(2004 statistics)
Fatalities per 100,000 workers –
2.1 workers per 100,000
Where would you put
 Canada?
 The U.S.?
 Sweden?
4.46
6.5

How do injuries to young people occur?
Top cause of injuries to young worker:
 Slips and falls

What injuries do young people suffer?
Most common injury to young workers:
 Sprains and strains

What serious injuries to young people are common?
Top CRITICAL INJURY to young people
 Broken bones

What laws protect us?
 The Occupational Health and Safety Act
 The Workplace Hazardous Materials
Information System (WHMIS )
 The Workplace Safety and Insurance Act

Occupational
Health and Safety Act
 Protects most workers in Ontario from health and safety hazards on the job
 Sets out the minimum standards for health and safety in Ontario
 This Act is a general one, and it has a series of Regulations , each of which covers specific occupations, work sectors or work hazards.

Occupational
Health and Safety Act
This law gives us 3 main rights:
 The Right to Know
 The Right to Participate
 The Right to Refuse

The Right to Know
Your employer must:
 tell you the actual and potential hazards in the workplace;
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 give you the training you need to avoid injury and illness in your specific workplace;
Include Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System
(WHMIS) in your training – it gives you the info you need to work safely with materials in your workplace (see WHMIS symbols & warning labels);
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 tell you who the first aid person is (or where the first aid station is); provide protective clothing/equipment and maintain it in good condition; tell you where the fire alarms and exits are tell you what to do in emergency situations .

The right to participate
Through your health and safety representative, or your joint health and safety committee (in workplaces with more than 20 employees), you have the right to:
 identify work hazards
 participate in health and safety inspections
 make recommendations about health & safety conditions and improvements

The right to refuse unsafe work
If you think the work you’re doing is unsafe, or the equipment you’re using isn’t safe, you can refuse the work .
When you follow the proper refusal procedure (as in the OHS Act):
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You cannot lose pay
You cannot be docked for the hours
 You cannot be suspended or fired for refusing
But you must stay in a safe place at the workplace and follow the directions of the employer if s/he gives you other work to do before an investigation takes place.

Kinds of hazards
 Physical hazards
 Chemical hazards
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Biological hazards
“Confined space” hazards
Other hazards –
Indoor air quality
Working alone
Violence at work
Fire

Your responsibilities
As a worker, you MUST:
 Always work safely and follow the OHSA
 Use the required protective equipment
 Never remove, change or damage protective equipment. If it’s missing or damaged, tell the supervisor
 Report any unsafe condition or hazard to the supervisory

A few things to ask about H&S when you start a new job
 What are the general safety rules for this job?
 What are the hazards in this job?
 What specific procedures do I have to follow to protect myself?
 Will I be using any hazardous chemicals?
 When will I get H & S training for this job?
 When will I get WHMIS training?
 What safety gear do I have to wear?

Questions to ask, cont’d
 What training will I get on how to use my safety equipment?
 What do I do in emergency situations such as a fire, or a chemical spill?
 Where are the fire extinguishers, first aid kits and other emergency equipment?
 If injured, what should I do?
 Who is the trained first aider in my area?

Questions to ask, cont’d
 Is there a worker H & S rep, or a joint H & S
Committee? Who is it/are they?
 Does this company have an occupational health and safety specialist? Who is it?