Know Your Rights

What is Occupational Health and Safety?

Occupational health and safety (OH&S) relate to health, safety, and welfare issues in the workplace. OH&S includes the laws, standards, and programs that are aimed at making the workplace better for workers, along with co-workers, family members, patients, and other stakeholders. Occupational health and safety is concerned with addressing many types of workplace hazards, such as:

  • Chemicals
  • Physical hazards
  • Biological agents
  • Psychological fallout
  • Ergonomic issues
  • Accidents

Occupational health and safety standards are in place to mandate the removal, reduction, or replacement of job site hazards. OH&S programs should also include material that helps minimize the effects of the hazards. Workplace safety is particularly important for everyone because all employees desire to work in a safe and protected atmosphere. Health and safety are the key factor for all industries to promote the wellness and well-being of both employees and employers. It is a duty and moral responsibility of the employer to look after the employee’s protection. The human suffering and monetary loss caused by accidents and illnesses at work each year in Saskatchewan is tremendous. Accident statistics and their financial costs are set out in Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) figures. Every statistic represents incalculable human suffering. The suffering of the injured is often intensified by the knowledge that most accidents are preventable. OH&S involves more than simply correcting unsafe actions and conditions; it is about prevention, not blame and is not personal. The importance of an effective OH&S program should not be underestimated. It allows your workplace to systematically eliminate the possibility of accident, illness, injury, or fatality caused by workplace hazards.

What are Your Rights?

All Employers are required to protect the health and safety of all parties at their work sites. All workers, regardless of number, also have health and safety rights and obligations. To protect workers from illnesses, injuries and diseases, workers are afforded three fundamental rights (included in the Saskatchewan Employment Act). Those rights are:

The Right to Know (about hazards)

Every worker has a right to ask and be told about specific hazards in their workplace and how to control and handle them safely. A hazard is any activity, situation or substance that can harm a worker. You can identify hazardous materials by product labels, safety data sheets (SDSs) and worker education programs. Every worker should be instructed about the safety precautions they need to take to protect themselves. New workers must receive orientation regarding health and safety in their workplace which would include the hazards they may encounter in their work.

The Right to Participate (in health and safety)

The right to participate ensures workers have an opportunity to help identify and correct hazards and participate in decisions that affect their health and safety at work. This right is best seen in the form of a Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee or as an OH&S Representative in the workplace that has workers and managers working together to ensure the workplace is safe. Every worker can participate in health and safety by reporting potential hazards and following safe work practice

The Right to Refuse (unsafe work)

In Saskatchewan, workers have a right to refuse work they believe, in good faith, to be unusually dangerous to themselves or others. An unusual danger could be:

  • a danger that is not normal for the job.
  • a danger that would normally stop work; and,
  • a situation that a worker isn’t trained, equipped, or experienced to deal with properly and safely.

If a worker is being asked to perform a job, they feel is dangerous, the Part III – Section 31 of the Saskatchewan Employment Act provides a way for them to exercise their right to refuse the unsafe work. A work refusal is initiated by the individual worker (not a group) and when initiated in good faith shall not result in discriminatory action by the Employer. Under the Act, workers who use their right to refuse are legally protected; an Employer cannot discriminate against, fire or discipline a worker who refuses to do unusually dangerous work. The specific job or task(s) that have been identified as unusually dangerous, cannot be reassigned to another individual unless they have been made aware of the refusal of work and have been advised of the process in place to fix the matter, to the satisfaction of the employee who refused the work.

What Every SUN Member Needs to Know

Safety in the workplace is everyone’s responsibility. To ensure a safe workplace for all, it is important for each member to understand their individual role and responsibility to:

  • Identify actual and potential hazards in the workplace when they occur.
  • Utilize low-level resolution to resolve safety concerns.
  • Be aware of Employer policies and procedures concerning workplace safety.
  • Have knowledge of individual rights and obligations under the Saskatchewan Employment Act, Occupational Health and Safety Regulations and the Collective Agreement.
  • Seek clarity on obligations under the Act and Regulations when required.
  • Seek out appropriate education/training to avoid potential or actual risk to self or co-workers.
  • Access rights, protections, and processes within the Collective Agreement to address harmful or potentially harmful situations. (e.g.: Nursing Advisory of grievance processes).

Legislative Responsibilities

Key to creating a safe workplace is that everyone in the workplace – both employees and employers – is responsible for his or her own safety and for the safety of co-workers. Those responsibilities are outlined in Part III of the Saskatchewan Employment Act (SEA).

As an Employee, your responsibilities include the following:

  • Work in compliance with the OH&S Acts and Regulations.
  • Use personal protective equipment and clothing as directed by the Employer.
  • Report workplace hazards and dangers to the supervisor or Employer.
  • Work in a safe manner as required by the Employer and use the prescribed safety equipment.
  • Tell the supervisor or Employer about any missing or defective equipment or protective device that may be dangerous.
  • Take reasonable care to protect his or her health and safety and the health and safety of other workers who may be affected by his or her acts or omissions.
  • Refrain from causing or participating in the harassment of another worker.
  • Cooperate with any other person exercising a duty imposed by the Act and Regulations.

The First Step: Low-Level Resolution

When a workplace safety concern or hazard is identified, the member’s/employee’s first step in addressing the issue is to engage in low-level resolution with their immediate supervisor/manager.

An Employee or a group of Employees who have a health or safety concern shall endeavour to resolve that concern by first referring the concern to the immediate supervisor or officer responsible for safety (Article 61.03 SUN/SAHO Collective Agreement).

Low-level resolution is an effective approach used to address common issues/concerns or solve problems in real-time, at the point of the incident, opposed to flagging the area of concern to be dealt with later or refer to senior management. This proactive and collaborative approach to problem solving supports open and transparent communication with the shared goal of timely and appropriate resolution.

While utilizing low level resolution to address member concerns is optimal, this does not remove the member’s rights to engage in a formal process through the Collective Agreement or legislation, nor does it prohibit them from contacting the Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety.

Fix it, Mark it, Report it

Everyone in the workplace is responsible for the safety of others and themselves – regardless of their designation, job duties, bargaining unit, or level of authority.

This responsibility is outlined within OH&S legislation where all employees must take reasonable care to protect his or her health and safety and the health and safety of other workers who may be affected by his or her acts or omissions. This means that when there is a health and safety concern in the workplace, everyone has an obligation to do something about it and if they don’t, you may be held responsible for the outcome.

If a worker identifies a safety issue it only takes a moment to quickly wipe up a spill or put a wet floor sign out or put a sign on broken equipment to warn others of the hazards.

In the event of an incident or accident, it is everyone’s obligation to ensure the event was reported to the immediate supervisor and the proper paperwork was completed.

We have all heard the old nursing adage – if it wasn’t documented, it didn’t happen. If it didn’t happen, there is nothing to fix.

Rights & Protection Under Collective Agreement

The Collective Agreement provides members with rights and protections in addition to those outlined within the Act and Regulations. The Collective Agreement covers subjects including, but not limited to:

  • Joint commitment to safety.
  • Participation on Joint OH&S Committees.
  • Time lost.
  • Influenza vaccine.
  • Violence in the workplace.
  • Critical stress management; and,
  • Protective equipment and clothing.

Summary Offence Tickets (SOTs)

A Summary Offence Ticket (SOT) is a ticket issued by designated Occupational Health Officers for certain occupational health and safety violations. SOTs are like speeding tickets, with fines ranging from $250 – $1,000 depending on the offence. They are issued on the spot or sent by mail depending on the situation and circumstances.

There are 12 ticket able offences for non-compliance with legislation; ticket able offences in healthcare include fall protection and personal protective equipment.

If an employee has been trained to prevent workplace hazards and an OH&S Officer sees them improperly performing a ticket able offence, the employee will be ticketed. If the employee can prove they have not been trained or trained to avoid the ticket.

Training

The Employer is obligated to ensure all employees are trained for the areas in which they work and the type of work they perform. This includes training in health and safety – for employees to work safely and in compliance with legislation and employer policies.

Employees have the right to seek out the appropriate education/training for their area of practice to avoid potential or actual risk to self or co-workers. OH&S training specific to healthcare is offered by the Saskatchewan Association for Safe Workplaces in Health (SASWH) and includes courses such as:

  • Transferring Lifting Repositioning (TLR).
  • Safe Moving and Repositioning Techniques (SMART®) program.
  • Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS 2015).
  • Professional Assault Response Training (PART).
  • Workplace Assessment Violence Education (WAVE); and, 
  • Mental Health First Aid.