¢ National Director Verna Ledger.

¢ Fred Miron, Local 1-2693.

Northern Ontario hosts
National Safety Conference

THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO — For
the first time since IWA-CANADA
became a National Union in 1987,
delegates to a Spring Health and
Safety Conference met in Central Can-
ada. Fifty-eight delegates from 19
geographical locals were here at the
Thunder Bay and District Labour
Centre on April 20 & 21 to give local
union reports and discuss new ad-
vances in health and safety.

Thunder Bay Local 1-2693 Presi-
dent Fred Miron greeted the confer-
ence delegates and guests on behalf of
the Northern Ontario District Council
(Local 1-2693 and Kapuskasing Local

1-2995). The NODC played host in
coordinating the conference.

IWA National Fourth Vice-Presi-
dent Bill Pointon, from the National
Union’s Toronto Office, called the con-
ference “a vehicle to further cement
the relationships between east and
west within the framework of our
National Union.”

National Second Vice-President
Neil Menard encouraged the delegates
to “stir the pot” on Occupational
Health and Safety. He told the audi-
ence that, in their local unions as well,
health and safety issues must become
a top priority.

Verna Ledger, National Director of
Health and Safety, addressed the del-
egates with a report which dealt with
the lack of federal funding for the
Canadian Centre of Occupational
Health and Safety, Workplace Haz-
ardous Material Information Sys-
tems, training standards for fallers in
B.C. and Ontario, proposed changes
to the Workers’ Compensation Board
of BC. and attempts to remove anti-

sapstain chemicals used in sawmills.

LOCAL UNIONS REPORT TO
CONFERENCE

Representatives from seventeen
local unions took to the microphone to
report what’s been happening in their
jurisdictions in the past year.

On the positive side of things some
of the locals reported as follows:

Local 1-71 Safety Director, Bob
Patterson from Courtenay, B.C. said
his local has been working with the
Workers’ Compensation Advisory
Committee to establish minimum
requirements for Faller/Bucker safety
training programs.

Duncan, B.C. Local 1-80 Safety
Director, Ross Davies said the local
safety committees have functioned
extremely well and workers have expe-
rienced a significant decrease in acci-
dents and incidents.

According to Henry Nedergard
from Port Alberni, Local 1-85, Mac-
Millan Bloedel Sproat Lake, Cameron
and Franklin Division along with
International Forest Products Ltd.,

have been taking an encouraging role
in training workers.

In Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan a
new Assessment and Referral service
has begun in January of 1990, which
has been put to good use by many
clients and families affected by layoffs
according to Ray Dease, Local 1-184,
Safety Director.

After a seminar for safety commit-
tee members in the fall of 1989, Van-
couver Local 1-217’s Safety Director,
Jim Parker says the local is conduct-
ing assessments of programs through-
out plants in the local.

Since the takeover of ManFor by.
Repap Industries, Manitoba Local
1-324’s Safety Director, Reg Erikson
says Repap officials have taken action
towards their stated commitment to
safety.

Since writing each company that
Local 1-357 (New Westminster) would
notify the WCB of any lockout viola-
tions Safety Director Peter Hayes
says there have been no more lockout
violations and a number of companies
have informed the local that they have
a commitment to proper lockout
procedures.

Along with the WCB, says Barry
King, of Local 1-367, Haney, B.C.,
joint committees have put together a
safety program for shake and shingle

s.
In Local 1-405 (Southeastern B.C.
Interior) Safety Director Edith Skiber
says the safety habits of employers
are being constantly monitored by
very active committees in place.

Ben Landis, Safety Director for
Kelowna, B.C., Local 1-423 says EFAP
programs in the local are underway
with only a few small employers not
yet participating.

Acomplete questionnaire for Safety
Chairpersons is being sent out for
local union audit of safety programs
according to Jack Higgins of Prince
George Local 1-424.

Brian Symmes of South Cariboo,
BC., Local 1-425 says the amount of
serious injuries are down in all
operations.

Hanover, Ontario, Local 1-500
reported that 20 of its members have
received training as Level I instruc-
tors by the Workers’ Health and
Safety Centre, according to Doug
Jack.

Local 1-700 (Toronto) has just set
up a Health and Safety Department,
with Bill Grenon as Safety Director.
Brother Grenon said programs will be
underway in the local’s eleven opera-
tions.

Local 1-2995 has been able to estab-
lish a few cases with the WCB for
compensation for industrial disease
caused by exposure to wood dust,
said Safety Director Damien Roy.

e Edith Skiber, Local 1-405.

© Reg Erikson, Local 1-324.

¢ Damien Roy, Local 1-2995.

© Barry King, Local 1-367.

Ontario loggers get
trade certification.

THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO —
Union delegates to the National
Spring Health & Safety Conference
were given a presentation on trade
certification within the logging indus-
try in Ontario.

For 6 months now wood cutters and
skidder operators in most parts of the
province have been undergoing inten-
sive on-the-job-training.

By law all cutters and skidder oper-
ators in Ontario must enter the pro-
gram during 1990, whether or not
they have experience in the woods.

The certification program is a proj-
ect originally launched with partici-
pation of IWA-CANADA (Local 1-2693
and 1-2995) the forest industry (For-
est Products Accident Prevention
Association) and the Skills Training
Branch of the Ministry of Labour.

Workers played a large role in set-
ting the priorities for the competency-

based training standards on which
the program is based.

“We insisted that any program that
we would develop had to be by people
who do the work,” said Thunder Bay
Local Union president Fred Miron.

Eight IWA-CANADA members sat
in a room for a week along with minis-
try and industry officials before com-
ing out with a comprehensive pro-
gram consisting of learning modules
with 58 different skill components.

Brother Miron feels it’s an idea
whose time has come.

“Certification in the logging indus-
try will increase professionalism and
pride on the job,” said Brother Miron.
He also said there is an urgent need to
create mandatory skills training in all
forest industry operations in the proy-
ince, to cut down on the accident rate.

See next page

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10/LUMBERWORKER/MAY, 1990

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