Young and New Workers - Focus of Safety Blitz

Originally printed in the Guelph Business Venture Magazine June 2010

With the school year over and many young and new workers anxious to make extra money, it is no surprise that the focus of the Ministry of Labour safety blitz over the next three months is the safety of young and new workers.

Health and Safety inspectors will be stopping by workplaces to ensure young and new workers are properly oriented, trained and supervised on the job, that the workers meet minimum age requirements and safety measures are in place to prevent injuries.

Bill 168 Violence and Harassment in the Workplace

Originally published in HazMat Magazine - Summer 2010

In a development that should be of interested to readers in all provinces, Ontario is playing catch0-up with the other provinces and jurisdictions such as the federal sphere (federal legislation governs transportation companies, banks, airlines and other federal undertakings), British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Nova Scotia who have all directly addressed that problem of workplace violence as a health and safety issue for years.

Violence and harassment issues in the workplace and how we handle these matters have been drastically changed by Bill 168 as of December 15, 2009 when this new legislation received Royal Accent. Workplaces across Ontario are required to develop measures to address violence and harassment in the workplace, develop policies, procedures, conduct risk assessments of their organization, and put programs and training in place for their staff.

Ministry of Labour Video - Workplace Violence and Harssment

"Everyone should be able to work without fear of violance and harassment in a safe and healthly workplace. Violence and harassment in the Workplace are not tolerated in Ontario"

Minister of Labour

The Hon. Peter Fonseca
Ministry of Labour