The Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) requires all employees to:
- Act in compliance with the law
- Use protective equipment and devices provided by their employer
- Report defects in equipment
- Report the existence of workplace hazards
ALL EMPLOYEES must receive training in ergonomic principles and in steps to prevent workplace muscular skeletal disorders (WMSD).
TRAINING of all employees must include:
- Recognizing the signs and symptoms of WMSD
- How to report a concern about hazards in the workplace
- How to recognize WMSD hazards
- Who should receive reports of WMSD hazards
- Workplace policies and procedures for dealing with concerns related to WMSD
- The equipment, adjustments and procedures workers need to use or follow to reduce or eliminate their exposure to WMSD hazards
TRAINING of new employees is critical. Experience illustrates that new employees and younger workers are most vulnerable to workplace accidents.
TRAINING employees who are experienced but new to a certain task or who are unfamiliar with a new piece of equipment is also critical.
TRAINING of all employees on a regular and ongoing basis is also required.
Andrew Lawson, Human Rights Advisor, Learn Don’t Litigate, www.learndl.ca, 416-534-3499
Trainer and advisor at Learn Don't Litigate
Andrew Lawson is a human rights and health and safety trainer and advisor, currently consulting to both the federal and Ontario governments. Since 1996, he has conducted extensive legal research in the areas of human rights and occupational health and safety law. He has worked in the people management business for over 25 years.
Latest posts by Andrew Lawson (see all)
- Responding to a human rights complaint - September 5, 2012
- Ontario policy on competing human rights - August 8, 2012
- What does the case of Trayvon Martin tell us about racism in Canada? - April 4, 2012
