LOGGER
CERTIFICATION

Continued from previous page

In the cutting and skidding section
of the industry, employers are paying
the highest premiums for WCB insur-
ance in the province. In 1988 there
were more than 1600 injuries and
seven deaths in the logging sector
alone.

The nine areas (modules) of compe-
tency are protecting self and others,
working in a safe environment, plan-
ning organizing and preparing job
sites, maintenance of chainsaws and
related felling equipment, tree falling,
limbing and topping trees, bucking
logs, maintenance of skidding equip-
ment, site preparations and pickup/
dropping of loads.

Most of the major companies in
northern Ontario are using skilled,
unionized members to train their fel-
low workers.

‘The company must sign and super-
vise the checking off procedure as the
worker passes through each phase of
the program. A worker can be certi-
fied for cutting or skidding separately
or can be certified for both phases
together.

As the worker successfully com-
pletes the program his/her name is
entered into a computer file as a per-
manent record of certification. Docu-
ments awarded from the Ministry of
Skills and Development are the only
proof that a worker has completed the
program.

Bob Wynn, a representative of the
Forest Products Accident Prevention
Association, was also present during
the presentation. Along with Mr.
Wynn, 8 other field representatives
work throughout the province with
two specialized trainers (who edu-
cated other trainers/instructors).

Mr. Wynn and his associates, who
are funded out of WCB assessments,
have been spreading the good word
throughout small communities in
northwestern Ontario. The FPAPA
has been working with local district
safety committees to set up train-the-
trainer programs in smaller, often non-
union operations.

Mr. Wynn pointed out that although
logging conditions may vary widely
from region to region (ie. selective
hardwood logging in the south — U.S.
clear cut pulp logging in the north),
the program’s requirements are uni-
form.

“Loggers are in a skilled trade and
it’s about time somebody recognized
it,” said Wynn.

Brother Miron predicts that trade
certification will become mandatory
in all phases of logging.

The Ministry of Skills and Develop-
ment is putting together other pro-
grams on heavy equipment operation
and hauling. It also has its eye set on
the sawmills and plywood plants
throughout Ontario.

Says Miron: “The trades in general
have dropped accident rates in all
heavy industries. They (the employ-
ers) realize now that they just can’t
pull anybody off the street to do a job
that should be done by a professional.”

© Allcutters, including Oliver Rickard at
Spruce Falls’ Logging division, eventual-
ly will be put through the certification
course.

Coverage of family
key to Assistance Program

Tt has taken the IWA many years of
working with employers and other
unions in getting a good Employee
and Family Assistance Program
(EFAP) off the ground.

For a lot of those years some
employers didn’t want to believe that
a worker's job performance could also
be affected by problems within his/
her family.

At the Spring Health and Safety
Conference in Thunder By, delegates
were told by IWA-CANADA’s National
Second-Vice-President, Neil Menard,
a long time stalwart of EFAPs and
Employee Assistance Programs
(EAP), stated that attitudes have
been changing in the workplace.

Today IWA-CANADA is involved in
EFAP and EAP programs across the
country, In 1988 the programs saw
over 6,000 clients across Canada, and
proved successful in resolving over
90% of client referrals.

Brother Menard said between
15-24% of the workforce everywhere
has some kind of problem. Alcohol
abuse is a leading factor, affecting
7-129% of the workforce and emotional
and psychological problems: rank a

close second.
Other areas that EFAPs are de-

signed to deal with are adult relation-
ship conflicts, drugs other than alco-
hol, tal/child conflicts, financial
problems and legal troubles.
Most EFAPs operate in conjunc-
tion with an Assessment Referral Ser-

e Neil Menard, National Second Vice-
President.

vice (ARS). Clients (both workers
and/or management) can go voluntar-
ily to an ARS for diagnosis. After
diagnosis the client usually receives
some specialized treatment within the
community.

Brother Menard pointed out the
EFAPs and EAPs must be jointly
administered, to avoid abuse of the
service by management or workers.

Menard said mental and physical
health of the workforce is important

Delegates to IWA-CANADA’s National
Health and Safety Conference in
Thunder Bay were enlightened and
informed by a presentation by Ron
Boucher, a Representative from the
Workers’ Health and Safety Centre.

What Mr. Boucher and his fellow
colleagues operate are training cen-
tres in Occupational Health and
Safety which are designed to teach
workers to be instructors.

Originally started by the Ontario
Federation of Labour in 1979, and
called the OFL Health and Safety
Training Centre, the organization
struggled under limited financial sup-
port for a number of years.

In 1985 the centres received sus-
tained funding (now about $5 million
per year) from the provincial govern-
ment to set up six training centres
throughout the province. The centres
are located in Toronto, Cambridge,
Hamilton, Kingston, Sudbury and
Thunder Bay.

“We can train more workers with
our $5 million (annual) budget than
other management associations have
in years,” said Mr. Boucher. He also

in preventing accidents and protect-
ing job security along with maintain-
ing productivity.

Unlike many other benefits negoti-
ated by the union (ie. long term dis-
ability, life insurance) the EFAPs can
be used throughout the employee's
lifetime and are “proactive and pre-
ventative in nature.”

In the early ’70s Brother Menard
saw the need for some kind of assis-
tance program near his former work-
place in Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan.

In 1976, along with Bob Blanchard,
a former National IWA officer, Men-
ard helped design a jointly admini-
stered “Troubled Employees Pro-
gram”. The IWA executive board took
the concept to industry.

It wasn’t until 1979 negotiations in
B.C when the union negotiated itself
into a joint agreement for an EAP, of
which the prototype was established
between MacMillan Bloedel and Dun-
can Local 1-80.

Today 14 offices in Western Can-
ada, receive wide participation from
assorted trade unions and employers.

A number of the programs in Can-
ada are not operated jointly with an
ARS, but do offer services through
private referral agencies.

© Skidder operator Russell Milljour (Local 1-2995) operates a wide-tired machine for
Spruce Falls Pulp and Power in muddy terrain near Kapuskasing, Ontario.

Safety program trains
workers as instructors

said that efforts of management in
training workers have been a failure.

The speaker told the delegation
that workers’ participation is the key
for a safe workplace. He said that an
experienced worker knows the work-
place better than anyone else includ-
ing a foreman, a manager, and inspec-
tors from the Ministry of Labour.

Since 1979 the Worker Centres have
trained over 200 worker instructors,
of which a majority have gone on to
train workers.

The organization’s Board of Direc-
tors consists of eight members from
11 different worker organizations
including Canadian Auto Workers,
the Canadian Conference of Team-
sters, and the Ontario Teachers’
Federation.

Mr. Boucher said the essence of
worker training is to eliminate acci-
dents. Training must be designed to
ensure learning amongst all groups
through personal contact.

The centres offer workers two levels
of training. In the first level, which
lasts 30 hours, 7 basic subject areas
are provided:

e An introduction for health and
safety.

© Federal and provincial legislation.
© The body in the workplace.

© Carcinogens in the workplace.

© Toxic substances

© Control workplace hazards.

© Noise in the workplace.

A great deal of time in Level 1 is
spent on hazard recognition and
resolving the related problems.

In Level 1, elective subjects are
provided including an extensive look
at WHMIS, (Workplace Hazardous
Material Information Systems) legis-
lation.

Level 2 takes a closer look at
Occupational Health & Safety legisla-
tion and the responsibility of the Min-
istry of Labour. The training course
also offers WHMIS training pro-
grams for union leaders, worker repre-
sentatives and workers themselves.

The Ontario experiment in the
Worker Health and Safety Centre is
unique in Canada.

No doubt many of the IWA dele-
gates from union locals outside of
Ontario will be calling for a similar
system in their home provinces. The
Ontario Federation of Labour has
shown, through persistence, that
workers training workers is a more
sensible way to solving health and
safety problems on the job.

LUMBERWORKER/MAY, 1990/14