Intent

This policy has been created to provide information pertaining to the duties and responsibilities of The West Egg Group Corp.’s Joint Health and Safety Committee. Each Canadian Province has established Health and Safety Legislation providing clear requirements in organizing the committee, the structure, meeting frequency and roles and responsibilities of committee members.

Guidelines

In the Province of Ontario, a JHSC is only required for those worksites where 20 or more employees are regularly employed, or as required by an order. The West Egg Group Corp. is committed to maintaining the health and wellbeing of its employees. As such, The West Egg Group Corp. has established a Joint Health and Safety Committee. The following document outlines the duties of this committee.

The committee/representative has four (4) principal functions:

• To identify potential hazards;
• To evaluate these potential hazards;
• To recommend corrective action; and
• To follow-up on implemented recommendations.

Responsibilities and Process

Duty of Employer – The employer is responsible for providing a safe and healthy workplace and for taking all necessary steps to protect the safety and health of employees.

Duty of the Employee – Employees are required to take all reasonable and necessary precautions to ensure their own safety and health as well as that of their fellow employees.

Committee Meetings

To carry out its functions, the committee/representative is required to hold meetings and carry out regular inspections of the workplace.

The Joint Health and Safety Committee will hold a meeting at least once every three months during regular working hours and on urgent matters.

Committee Meeting Notes

Minutes of each meeting must be recorded and available for review by a Ministry of Labour inspector. Minutes should contain details of all matters discussed, as well as a full description of issues raised, any action recommended by the committee members and the employer’s response to the recommendation(s). Minutes should identify members by title and not by name. Members’ names should be used only for attendance purposes.

Committee Role in Workplace Inspections

The Joint Health and Safety Committee must ensure that the workplace is inspected every month. Other workers, as well as the employer, must give the Committee any information and assistance needed to carry out these inspections.

In some cases, the committee must also participate in the development of assessment reports and control-program reports required under the designated substance regulations.

Committee General Responsibilities

Generally speaking, all committee members should be available to receive employee concerns, complaints, and recommendations; discuss problems and recommend solutions, and provide input into existing and proposed health and safety programs.

Members of the committee are entitled to time off from work for authorized activities related to the responsibility of the committee or representative

The Committee will review injuries and accidents.

The Committee has the power to make recommendations to the employer on ways to improve workplace health and safety. The employer must respond in writing to any written recommendations within twenty-one (21) days.

The Health and Safety Committee must be present at the investigation of work refusal. If a worker is killed or critically injured on the job, the Committee has the obligation to inspect the scene of the accident and any machine, equipment, substance, etc. that may be connected with the accident.

The Health and Safety Committee is entitled to request the annual summary of information from the Workplace Safety & Insurance Board about compensation claims related to the workplace of the employer. 

This information includes:

• Number of fatalities;
• Number of lost-time injuries;
• Number of workdays lost;
• Number of injuries requiring medical aid but did not involve lost workdays;
• Incidence of occupational illnesses;
• The number of occupational injuries.

The Committee may from time to time come across confidential information. The Health and Safety Committee may not:

• Disclose any information about any workplace test or inquiries conducted under the Act or regulations;
• Reveal the name of any person from whom information is received;
• Disclose any secret or trade information, etc.;
• Disclose the results of any medical examinations or tests of workers in a way that identifies the individual(s).

Powers and Responsibilities of a Committee Member

It is the function of a committee and the committee has the power to:

1. Identify situations that may be a source of danger or hazard to workers;
2. Receive complaints relating to the safety and health of employees, consider these complaints, and address them;
3. Make recommendations to the constructor or employer and the workers for the improvement of the health and safety of workers;
4. Recommend to the constructor or employer and the workers: the establishment, maintenance and monitoring of programs, measures and procedures respecting the health or safety of workers;
5. Obtain information from the constructor or employer respecting, the identification of potential or existing hazards of materials, processes or equipment, and health and safety experience and work practices and standards in similar or other industries of which the constructor or employer has knowledge;
6. Obtain information from the constructor or employer concerning the conducting or taking of tests of any equipment, machine, device, article, thing, material or biological, chemical or physical agent in or about a workplace for the purpose of occupational health and safety;
7. Be consulted about, and have a designated member representing workers be present at the beginning of, testing conducted in or about the workplace if the designated member believes his or her presence is required to ensure that valid testing procedures are used or to ensure that the test results are valid. However, this does not include the medical records of any person, unless that person agrees to their disclosure.
8. Inspect the workplace at least once a month or, if that is not practical, inspecting the workplace at least once a year and at least part of the workplace each month.
9. Participate in the first and second stage investigation of work refusals and inspecting workplaces when there are critical injuries or fatalities.

Management Support

Our Management Team supports our safety committee and has instructed our safety committee to:

• Identify and assess potential unsafe conditions in our workplace;
• Make recommendations to management for the improvement of the health and safety of all employees;
• Review and make recommendations to management regarding the ongoing maintenance and monitoring procedures of all health and safety issues in the workplace;
• Assist with hazard identification and control reports, inspection reports, and accident investigation reports and where appropriate, make recommendations;
• Physically meet and then inspect the workplace at intervals of not less than once every month.

Legal Requirements – Employer’s Duty

The West Egg Group Corp. shall provide employees with the information, instruction, training, and supervision necessary to ensure their safety and health.

The West Egg Group Corp. shall ensure that each employee is informed of every known or foreseeable safety and health hazard in the area where the employee works.

The West Egg Group Corp. shall train their employees to ensure that all hazardous substances are stored, handled, and used in the manner prescribed.

At The West Egg Group Corp., “Safety Posting Board” will include:

• The Occupational Health and Safety Act;
• The employer’s safety and health policy;
• Names of committee members or representatives and where they work;
• Minutes of committee meetings;
• Other related information, as a safety officer directs.

Contract Employee’s Responsibility

• Each contract employee i.e. student or casual worker will be given an orientation prior to commencing work and will be given the same safety information as a regular new hire.
• Each contract employee will be expected to take an active role in our Health and Safety Program and take on the same responsibilities of “All Employees”.