December 16, 2010
Ontario should become a safer place in which to work if
the recommendations put forward today by an expert advisory panel
studying workplace health and safety are fully implemented.
"We welcome the changes announced today by Labour
Minister Peter Fonseca and we fully anticipate he will put into law all
46 recommendations," said Warren (Smokey) Thomas, president of the
Ontario Public Service Employees Union.
"These proposed changes would not have been possible had
it not been for the extensive contributions made by organized labour to
the expert advisory panel and we are pleased that chair Tony Dean has
incorporated many of our recommendations to the extent that he did."
Working in collaboration with Ministry of Labour
occupational health and safety inspectors, OPSEU participated in the
consultation process and in June released two written submissions that
contained several recommendations that found their way, at least in
part, into today’s report by the expert panel.
Chief among those recommendations was a call by OPSEU
that the powers of Ministry of Labour inspectors be strengthened when
investigating reprisals against workers who report unsafe working
conditions. However, the report fell short of an OPSEU recommendation
that inspectors be given the authority to reinstate workers who are
victims of employer reprisals..
OPSEU also welcomed the panel’s recommendation that
every Ontario worker and supervisor must receive mandatory information
about workplace rights and responsibilities before they start their job.
The government will establish a new office, within the
Ministry of Labour, under the direction of a Chief Prevention Officer
whose mandate will be to ensure that all worksites operate in compliance
with the OHSA.
"The Chief Prevention Officer will ensure Ontario's
injury prevention priorities and programs are coordinated and integrated
with the province's enforcement system. The officer will also oversee
Ontario's Health and Safety Associations and report annually to the
Minister," the Ministry said in a statement.
Going into the review there were some fears that the
Ministry’s enforcement duties would be lost, but the report made clear
that this function must remain inside the department. Also left intact
was the role and funding of the Workers Health and Safety Centre and the
Occupational Health Centres for Ontario Workers.
Len Elliott, chair of OPSEU’s Ministry of Labour MERC,
said overhaul of Ontario’s health and safety system was long overdue but
he welcomed the panel’s recommendations and the role played by labour in
fashioning the changes.
"It is deeply regrettable that it took the deaths of
four young men on a construction site in Toronto last December to
trigger the work of the panel; but now that its work is complete we will
be watching very closely to ensure that all the recommendations are
implemented to the fullest in order that Ontario becomes a safer place
for working people on the job," said Elliott.
Print this pagee