Health & Safety Corner

Health and Safety is an important aspect of all workplaces. It is the responsibility of all workers to play a role in creating and maintaining a safe and healthy work environment.

Joint H&S Committee

In 1998 a Joint H&S Committee was established at Community Living Toronto. The committee is comprised of both worker and employer members. The role of the committee is to identify hazards, make recommendations, investigate critical injuries and work refusals. In addition, the committee does workplace inspections, trains and educates workers and examines accident trends. There is a strong focus on prevention of workplace accidents and raising awareness of workplace safety among staff. The legislation that governs the committee’s function, roles of its members is the Occupational H&S Act (OHSA or the Act). The Act outlines the rights and responsibilities of workers, employers, committees, inspectors, and the role of the Ministry of Labour (MOL)

The committee is divided into two groups


H&S Committee

  • Revisions of Policies and Procedures
  • Policy development, recommendations
  • Support workers in workplace by addressing issues


H&S Training and Education Committee

  • Identify H&S training/education needs
  • Develop a variety of tools – newsletters, fact sheets, trainings etc
  • Works in conjunction with the Committee to ensure revised policies and procedures are known by all

Inspections

Workplace inspections are conducted at each site two times a year. Inspection team consists of one worker representative and one management representative. Under the OHSA the worker member inspector must be present for the inspection to be considered in compliance with the Act.

To see which worker committee member inspects your location, click here.