a

*Most IWA-CANADA members are covered under the legislation introduced in 1991.

Ontario workers’ push for health and safety
_ realized in ‘train the trainer’ program

The le to achieve a healthier
and safer workplace has been an eter-
nal one for the trade union movement
in Canada. Fortunately for workers in
the province of Ontario that struggle
a peer made easier By the produc:

ion of progressive work training leg-
islation introduced by the Bob Rae
NDP government.

Tn 1991 the government introduced
Bill 208, an act to amend the Occupa-
tional Health and Safety Act, which in-
cludes provisions that ensure that all
workplaces with over 20 workers will
have two people adequately trained in
health and safety procedures and
have the ability to teach some of their
skills to other workers.

Bill 208’s provisions are a formaliza-
tion of the labour movement’s long
Standing efforts to institute a proper
“train the trainer program” which is
intended to reach out and instruct
workers who would otherwise never
receive training in health and safety.

Today the “train the trainer” pro-

is operated through the Ontario
_ Workplace Health and Safety Agency,
_ which is funded entirely through em-
contributions Gore Work-
Compensation Board of Ontario.
predicts that eventually
be over 100,000 “certified
trained in the province. That
be the envy of every other
ce in Canada.
NADA has been involved,
h the Ontario Federation of

Local 1-1000's Bob Hird

(1992-3) and was a rank and file dou-
ble-backer operator at MacMillan
Bathurst Inc’s. corrugated plant St.
Thomas, Ontario which closed in Jan-
uary of this year.

Brother Hird is safety director of
IWA-CANADA, Local 1-1000 in north
central Ontario and an employee at
Grief Containers in Belleville, Ontario.

Both fully support the Agency’s pro-
grams and their noble intentions.

The concept for train the trainer be-
gan in 1979 with a push from the OFL
which started up a program to edu-
cate workers.

“Without the OFL the instigation of
a “train the trainer” program would
never have taken place in Ontario,”
said Brother Warren in an interview
with the Lwmberworker. “The OFL has
been the driving force to push the pro-
gram through to le; ition.”

* That’s a good thing says Brother
Warren, because now even the non-
union work force is covered by legis-
lation. % :

“In the past some unions haven’t

had enough clout to get employers to
attention to worker training and
Ree the non-union workplace has

had no clout whatsoever until Bill 208
became law,” added Warren.

The “train the trainer” program
specifies that one management repre-
sentative and one worker representa-
tive will undergo, to begin, a 40 hour
Category I course which teaches
some essential basics for the instruc-
tion of health and safety committee
members.

Category I education includes the
basic concepts of how an occupation-
al health and safety committee is sup-
posed to function, what are the rights
and responsibilities of management
and labour, accident investigations,
and education on Workplace Haz-
ardous Materials Information Systems
(WHMIS).

According to Brother Warren “the
whole idea of the training program is
to train as many (workers) as you can
and then we can pick out the stronger
students to assist in training down the
line.”

The labour councils, local unions
and Canadian Labour Congress affili-
ates have pooled together to coordi-
nate the education along with the
agency.

“We believe that health and safety is
only one important aspect of labour
education and a major one at that,”
added Brother Warren.

For Brother Hird, the program of-
fers help not only in his own plant but
throughout Local 1-1000’s boundaries.
The local union consists of about
2,100 members spread throughout
north central Ontario.

“Now we are able to get worker
training without having to dip into our
union funds,” said Brother Hird. “Not
even our government is paying for it.
It is strictly paid for by the employer
through the WCB.”

At Grief Containers, a plastic con-
tainer plant where Hird works, the
program can prove positive.

In past years the company has
faced some stiff penalties well in ex-
cess of the $3,000 fee it costs, on aver-
age, to send a worker through the

training program.

“From a worker's standpoint the
program can contribute to a safer
workplace while at the same time sav-
ing the employer some expensive
WCB premiums if things go right,” said
Hird. “That may mean we can demand

_Mmore money at the bargaining table.”

The local union safety director has
travelled quite a bit inside 1-1000’s ju-
risdiction.

“The more I get involved in health
and safety the more I am exposed to
people who are coming out of the
woodwork with things like missing
fingers and life long injuries,” said
Hird. “Unless you are exposed to
these things it is sometimes hard to
have an appreciation of how much
work has to be done in health and
safety.”

The “train the trainer” program’s
three categories are designed for
workplaces with different levels of
risk. Category I applies to those ex-
posed to chemical, biological, or phys-
ical risks that are so low that it isn’t
necessary to protect workers against
them by using engineering controls,
work practices, hygiene facilities, and
practices or personal equipment. The
relative hazards from Category I
workplaces are unlikely. In this cate-
gory there are less than 100 workers
employed. Category II applies to
workplaces that have one or more of
the following characteristics: one or
more Designated Substances Regula-
tions applies to it by a control pro-
gram or personal protective equipment
isn’t required. The Category II work-
place is likely to cause injury if an ac-
cident occurs because of its location,
the equipment and/or machinery used.
The injuries are unlikely to be critical
or fatal. In this category there are reg-
ularly between 100 - 500 workers em-
ployed.

Category III applies to workplaces
where protective equipment is re-
quired and safety hazards are likely to
cause critical or fatal injuries. In addi-
tion this category applies to work

places with over 500 employees.

Brother Warren says that health
and safety is no different than any
other area of study, where some peo-
ple excel more than others. But as Bill
208 pushes employers to pay for the
“train the trainer” more workers are
getting educated.

When the OFL courses originally be- >
gan in the early 1980's, the majority of
participants were male. All of that has
changed by the 1990's. In addition all
sectors of workers are getting trained
(ie. health care workers, manufactur-
ing workers, municipal workers, em-
ployers, etc.)

“By having both the management
and the worker educated together and

Local 1-500's Verne Warren

having some understanding of legisla-
tion, we can hopefully help workers
and employers as well,” added War-
ren. -

Brother Warren said that one
province (Prince Edward Island) and
one territory (Yukon) are looking at
Ontario’s training the trainer model.

“I think it would serve our brothers
and sisters in other provinces well to
examine the Ontario example and see
if it could be applied in their jurisdic-
tions,” he added.

LUMBERWORKER/APRIL, 1994/15