Changes to Occupational Health and Safety Act set high 
standards for the protection of workers

Amendments to the province's Occupational Health and Safety Act, passed during the spring 2001 session of the House of Assembly, demonstrate a proactive approach to dealing with occupational health and safety, while at the same time maintaining and enhancing the high standards required for the protection of workers in the province. 

"The changes reinforce government's commitment to working in a balanced partnership with employers and employees to build healthier and safer workplaces for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians," said Labour Minister Anna Thistle.

Under the new legislation, the Department of Labour will aggressively enforce the new provisions of the Act. Effective January 1, 2002, training will be mandatory for all health and safety committee members in companies with 50 or more employees. For companies with 10 to 49 employees, training for co-chairs of committees will be mandatory. As well, employers with more than 10 employees will be required to have a written health and safety program. 

"As of January 1, 2002, trained worker safety representatives will be mandatory for all companies with less than 10 employees," explained Minister Thistle. "For smaller companies where the designated worker representative is in a non-management position, their managers should seriously consider taking health and safety training as well. The legislation will ensure that paid leave is available to persons participating in the worker representative training, and employers in this category will also be required to have a written health and safety policy."

New legislation also requires that employers report back to their employees in a timely manner on the actions to be taken on the recommendations made by their particular health and safety committees or worker representatives.

"Other changes to occupational health and safety legislation will see the development and implementation of new ergonomics regulations to address the increase of soft tissue related injuries that have been occurring in recent years," explained Minister Thistle. "It is anticipated that these regulations will be modeled after regulations currently in place in British Columbia and with a view to being effective in January 1, 2003.

"Health and safety on the job is everyone's responsibility and employers have a responsibility to ensure a safe and healthy workplace for all their employees," stated the minister. "Government must ensure that the proper regulations are in place to ensure a safe workplace, and that violators of these regulations are held responsible for their actions."

Media contact: Kathy Dicks-Peyton, Communications, (709) 729-1741.

2001 06 28                                                      10:30 a.m.