THE EMPLOYERS' EDGE
Ministry of Labour's Summer Safety Blitzes to Focus on Young Workers
With the end of the school year comes the opportunity for students and young workers to earn money working in
temporary and summer jobs. Coinciding with that is the Ministry of Labour’s focus on new and young workers in the health care, construction and the industrial sectors including farming services and logging. A safety blitz will begin in May of 2012 and will continue until the end of August 2012. The focus of the Ministry of Labour inspectors will be to ensure that employers and supervisor have emphasized the need for new and young workers to communicate any questions or concerns they may have about workplace hazards and to be familiar with some of the unique health and safety concerns faced by these workers. The Ministry factsheets have stipulated that employers shall provide workplace specific training to all workers and should focus on:
(1) newly hired workers with or without experience in the industry;
(2) existing workers starting a new job, being transferred or returning after an extended
absence;
(3) workers who will benefit from retraining after an accident in which they are injured or
narrowly escape injury;
(4) workers who will be working on new or different work processes or with new machinery;
(5) seasonal help;
(6) student workers and co-op students; and
(7) temporary workers who may or may not have experience in the industry and vulnerable
workers.
There will be additional summer safety blitzes in the construction sector. In June the focus will be on traffic control during road work and in July and August the Ministry will focus on hoisting hazards associated with tower and mobile cranes. In the mining sector, there will be a focus on inspections associated with hazards in the haulage process at pit, quarries, sand and gravel pits. As well, companies should be preparing now for the fall safety blitz which will focus on supervisory responsibilities and training. In the construction sector, there will be a specific focus on section 14 of the construction regulation. Section 14 states:
(1) A constructor shall appoint a supervisor for every project at which five or more workers will work at the same time.
(2) The supervisor shall supervise the work at all times either personally or by having an assistant, who is a competent person, do so personally.
(3) A supervisor or a competent person appointed by the supervisor shall inspect all machinery and equipment, including fire extinguishing equipment, magazines, electrical installations, communication systems, sanitation and medical facilities, buildings and other structures, temporary supports and means of access and egress at the project to ensure that they do not endanger any worker.
(4) An inspection shall be made at least once a week or more frequently as the supervisor determines is necessary in order to ensure that the machinery and equipment referred to in subsection (3) do not endanger any worker.
(5) A competent person shall perform tests and observations necessary for the detection of hazardous conditions on a project.
Employers are encouraged to review their current orientation training for both new employees and employees who are transferred to new positions, in order to ensure that there are adequate health and safety orientation/training in place. For further information on the Ministry of Labour’s summer and fall Safety Blitzes employers can visit the Ministry of Labour website.
Please contact one of the lawyers at CCP with any questions you may have concerning health and safety in the workplace.
Please Note: This blog has been prepared as an informational service for our clients and other interested parties. It is not intended to constitute legal advice, a complete statement of the law or opinion on any subject. Although we endeavour to ensure the accuracy of the content, no one should act upon the information provided without a thorough examination of the law after the facts of a specific situation are fully considered.