Workplace Violence
This booklet is prepared to help local unions organize effectively to protect workers from violence and harassment. It contains the tools to press employers to fulfill their obligations to properly assess and control the hazards of workplace violence and harassment.
Guide to OHSA
OPSEU/SEFPO produces and regularly updates this guide to provide members with basic information and interpretation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). It answers key questions about your rights and your employer’s legal obligations and describes the powers of Joint Health and Safety Committees (JHSC) and health and safety representatives (HSR).
From Knowledge to Action
In the health care field, OPSEU/SEFPO members go into work to provide professional care and treatment to people who need it. Yet incidents of violence are far from rare. In recent years, we’ve seen numerous incidents that have seriously injured health care workers on the job. Learn more in this health and safety toolkit for OPSEU/SEFPO members facing violence at work in health care generally and mental health facilities in particular.
Mental Injury Toolkit (MIT)
This quick reference card provides a lead to information on psychosocial hazards in the workplace that can cause psychological and physical harm to workers. This card also has direct links to the OHCOW website and StressAssess.
Ergonomics Workstation Checklist
A lot of OPSEU/SEFPO members work in an office environment without knowing the equipment and overall workstation provided by their employers are presenting potential long term health issues due to poor ergonomics. Download our Ergonomics Workstation Checklist to see if you need to make recommendations for improvements.
Ergonomics Fact Sheet
Ergonomics is the science of designing the most effective and healthy way of enabling the environment you work in, which includes all the tools and equipment you use for your job to fit YOU the worker, rather than physically forcing your body to fit the job. It is irrelevant to the type of work you perform, the science of ergonomics can be applied in every workplace and working environment. Read more of our ergonomic fact sheet.
OPSEU/SEFPO work refusal card
This quick reference card provides OPSEU/SEFPO members with guidance and easy to follow information about the process of a work refusal. The card also includes a province wide 1-877 number to the Ministry of Labour call centre.
Work refusal flow chart
Although the right to refuse unsafe work is available to just about all workers in Ontario, the process of exercising this right can be seen as a little daunting and stressful to just about any worker. The Ministry of Labour provides this easy-to-follow flow chart to assist any worker in ensuring their right to be safe at work is respected.
Worker entitlements under the OHSA
When we think of the “Right to Know”, think entitlements. There are several sections of the OHSA that speak directly to a worker’s right to be provided specific information from their employer that relates directly to health and safety in the workplace. Whether you are a JHSC member or not, you are a worker in Ontario and the sections highlighted in our document is only a few of the sections that explain your “Right to Know“.
Health and safety recommendations
Did you know, in June 2011 the Occupational Health and Safety Act was amended to allow the co-chair representing the workers to submit a recommendation to the employer that carries the same weight as a full committee recommendation? The OPSEU/SEFPO Worker Safety Unit has created this template that our members can use for submitting worker only or joint recommendations to their employer.
Return to work Health and Safety Tips
Workers returning to work following an injury or illness must know that the work they are returning to is safe for them. Every effort must be made by all parties involved in a return-to-work process to ensure that the worker’s benefits continue until the worker can be safely accommodated back into the workplace. Read more of our return-to-work tip sheet
Sexual Harassment and the OHSA
Effective September 8, 2016, the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) was amended to address issues of sexual violence, sexual harassment, and domestic violence in the workplace. These amendments placed specific obligation on the employer including an investigation process.
Read more in our Q&A document.
Working Alone?
Several hazards continue to exist in workplaces throughout Ontario without much thought. Working alone is definitely near the top of the list of hazards that seemingly continue without asking; “Isn’t there a safer way to do this work, instead of all by myself”? Read our tip sheet for OPSEU/SEFPO members who work alone or in isolated areas.