Guide to Workplace Health and Safety Committees

1 Guide to WorkplaceHealth & Safety CommitteesPrinted February, 2009 WCB Information Series publicationPromoting Safe Employers & WorkersCOMMITTEESW orkplace Guide to OccupationalHealth and Safety CommitteesProduced by theWorkers Compensation BoardPO Box 757 Charlottetown PEC1A 7L7website: February 20091-800-237-5049 Table of ContentsGuide to Occupational Healthand Safety Committees1 Who Needs a Safety Committee? 1 Benefits of a Safety Committee1 The Internal Responsibility System 2 Legislated Requirementspertaining to OH&S Committees2 What is an Occupational Healthand Safety Representative? 3 Role of the Committee 4 Role of Chairperson 5 Role of the Secretary 5 Points to Remember 5 The Role of the OH&S Committeein the OH&S Program6 The Role of the OH&S Committeein Refusal to Work Situations7 Rules of Procedure8 Workplace Inspections9 Accident Investigation9 Meetings, Agendas10 Sample Minutes Form 11 Rights and Responsibilities12 Guide to Health and Safety CommitteesThis Guide will outline the legislated requirements around Health and safetycommittees.

2 It will also provide information on how Committees functioneffectively in the Workplace . Joint Health and Safety Committees are groups ofworker and employer representatives working together to identify and solvehealth and Safety problems at the work site. The primary purpose of thecommittee is to facilitate communication on Health and Safety issues. An effectivecommittee will help reduce losses associated with accidents and sessions on how to get a Safety committee active or more involvedare available from the Workers Compensation Board by calling the OccupationalHealth and Safety Education Consultant at (902) 368 5698, toll free at Needs an Occupational Health and Safety Committee?Under Section 25 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Health and SafetyCommittees are mandatory in all workplaces with over 20 regularly employedpersons. Regularly employed persons are defined as persons employed over of an Occupational Health and Safety CommitteeCommunication is the key to an effective Health and Safety system.

3 The committeeprovides a link between the people doing the work and the people directing brings a broad range of expertise and experience to assist with identifyinghazards and finding solutions. Committees bring Health and Safety issues outinto the open to have them resolved. The improved communication reducesaccidents, benefits production and contributes to the sense of team work in an effective Health and Safety committee: Accidents are reduced. Awareness of Health and Safety is improved. A broad base of expertise and experience is available for solving problems. Co-operation is encouraged through better communication. All workers have a way to express concerns and have them 1 The Internal Responsibility SystemThe Internal Responsibility System is the philosophical foundation of theOccupational Health and Safety Act. It is based on the principle that all personsin the Workplace have a responsibility for Health and Safety in their all workers are aware of hazards and can contribute to improving safetyand Health , there are fewer heart of the Internal Responsibility System is the participation of workersand employers to co operatively identify hazards and find solutions to is the role of the Safety committee.

4 The committee s duty is to note wherethe problems are and to make recommendations to correct Requirements Pertaining to Occupational Healthand Safety CommitteesSection 25 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act requires that: Health and Safety Committees be established and maintained in any workplacewith more than 20 regularly employed employees. Constructors on a projectthat is expected to last more than three months must establish and maintain acommittee for the project. This may mean that some employees are on twosafety Committees , one for their regular Workplace and one for the project. Acommittee may be ordered to be established in a smaller Workplace if the riskmerits a least one half of the committee members must be workers who do not haveany managerial functions. These members are to be selected by the workers orthe union if there is size of the committee is not dictated in the Act. It is recommended therebe one representative from each division or section of the committee shall meet at least once each month.

5 This may be changed bythe committee in the rules of procedure if there is a good reason. For example,if your business is seasonal you may not need to meet as frequently during theslow meetings and related work are to be done on paid shall establish their own rules of procedure. See page 8 for 2 Section 27 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act InformationResponsibilities requires that:An employer who receives written recommendations and a request for a responsefrom a committee or representative must respond in writing within 30 response must either indicate acceptance of the recommendation or givereasons for disagreement and propose an alternative. Where it is not possibleto provide a response, a reason for the delay and a time frame for a responsemust be given. If the committee or representative is not satisfied with theresponse to a written request in reasonable circumstances, they shall report thisto an OHS officer of the Workers Compensation employer must notify the committee or representative of all reports oninspections, monitoring and testing, and make them available to the committeeor representative.

6 These will be made available by the Occupational Healthand Safety Officer or the individual hired to do the minutes, member list, contact information and all reports mustbe posted where workers have access to members representing workers are to be given the opportunity toaccompany the OH&S officer when a Safety inspection is is an Occupational Health & Safety Representative?Section 26 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act states that workplacesemploying between 5 and 19 persons must have a Safety representative selectedby workers. The person should not have any managerial or supervisory requirement relates to workplaces, not necessarily employers. Under thisdefinition, an employer with 30 workers working out of three sites with noworkplace holding more than 20 workers, would not require a Safety Workplace (s) with over five workers would require a Safety employer would be required to have a Safety program in place because therequirement for Safety programs is tied to the employer and not the this case, it would be advisable to have a Safety representative from eachworkplace to meet with management on Safety issues to help develop andimplement the Safety 3In some cases an employer will need to establish a combination of safetycommittees and Safety representatives if there are workplaces with over twentyemployees and workplaces with between five and nineteen Director of Occupational Health and Safety for the Workers CompensationBoard may require a committee or a Safety representative be established at a Workplace if it is deemed necessary to maintain Health and of the Committee (Section 25 of the Act)1.

7 To involve all persons in the Workplace in Health and Safety concerns by responding to and discussing Health and Safety concerns brought up by To hold monthly meetings and encourage each member to contribute their own identify Health and Safety hazards in the Workplace and make recommendationsto correct receive and investigate complaints about Safety . Ensure these are referred tosupervisors, reported to the committee and followed To educate fellow workers about risks and safe To orient new workers to Health and Safety risks and To participate in accident investigations and regularly scheduled inspections as outlined in the rules of procedure drawn up by the To advise management on corrections for Safety problems and monitor To obtain information when necessary and advise on appropriate protective devices, equipment and advise on the establishment of appropriate Health and Safety programs, education and maintain records of meetings and To attend right to refuse situations (Section 28 of the Act, page 7 of this Guide ).

8 A member accompany the WCB Occupational Health and Safety officer on 4 Role of ChairpersonIt is recommended Committees have co chairs, one from management and onefrom worker representatives who alternate chairing duties. The duties include: Run the meetings. This means starting and stopping on time, keeping discussion on track, and sticking to the agenda. Help members agree on the problem and arrive at a consensus on the consensus is more effective than a majority rules system. When necessary ensure recommendations are presented to the employer in writing, with a request for a written response, and the committee is informedof the employer s response. Ensure everyone has an opportunity to share facts and ideas. Schedule meetings, arrange time, dates, and of the SecretaryThe secretary can be a committee member or someone brought in to do minutes. Secretaries can play an important role in clarifying decisions for the minutes. The secretary the agenda and notify members of meeting times and minutes, ensure they are agreed to, circulate reports and ensure minutes are out those items recorded in past minutes that require discussion or follow up by the necessary clarify what decisions have been to RememberThe committee's main function is to help improve Health and Safety .

9 It isessential that worker / management issues are kept committee is an advisory body. It does not have the authority to dictatechanges. Its role is to recommend. This means that the committee cannot beheld responsible for violations of the OH&S 5 Training is recommended for Safety committee members. The most commontopics are OH&S legislation, Workplace inspection, accident investigation andinjury Committees are most effective if they are clear about their role. It helpsto meet regularly and carry out the basic functions of Workplace inspectionand accident committee is not responsible for discipline regarding Health and Safety . Itsrole is to be the eyes and ears of Safety concerns. Problems around compliancewith Health and Safety procedures or personal protective equipment are theresponsibility of supervisors. The committee's role here could be to look at whycompliance is a problem. There may be a better Role of the Health and Safety Committee in theOccupational Health and Safety 23 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act requires any employerwith more than twenty regular employees to establish a Health and means that workplaces requiring a committee will also require a program.

10 The program consists of a committee, a means to identify hazards and developwritten work procedures for them, accident investigation, Workplace inspection,and written documentation of all these plus record keeping and training. Therequirements are outlined in the Guide to Workplace Health and Safety role of the committee in the program is to monitor its effectiveness. Thecommittee cannot develop the program by meeting once a month. The programis the responsibility of the employer and it is recommended that a person beassigned to co-ordinate it. Committee members can contribute as needed butthis would usually be time separate from normal committee member outside consultant can be brought in to assist with committee contributes to the program by conducting Workplace inspectionsand following up on recommendations. The Health and Safety co-ordinator,if any, maintains the documentation, creates written work procedures withworker and committee input, and ensures training is done and records are 6 Role of the Committee in a Refusal to Work - Section 28 Any worker has the right and the responsibility to refuse work if that workerbelieves the work is dangerous.