Joint Safety & Health Committee
Committee Meetings
To carry out its functions, the committee/representative is required to hold meetings and carry out regular inspections of the workplace. The inspections take place at a minimum of 1 inspection per 90 days.
The Joint Safety and Health Committee will hold a meeting at least once every three months during regular working hours and on urgent matters.
Committee Meeting Notes
Minutes of each meeting must be recorded and available for review. Minutes should contain details of all matters discussed, as well as a full description of issues raised, any action recommended by the committee members and the employer response to the recommendation(s). Minutes should identify members by title and not by name. Members' names should be used only for attendance purposes.
Minutes should be signed by the co-chairs and posted in the workplace within one week of the meeting.
Committee Role in Workplace Inspections
The joint Safety and Health Committee must ensure that the workplace is inspected every 90 days. Other workers, as well as the employer, must give the Committee any information and assistance needed to carry out these inspections.
In some cases, the committee must also participate in the development of assessment reports and control-program reports required under the designated regulations.
Committee General Responsibilities
Generally speaking all committee members should be available to receive employee concerns, complaints and recommendations; to discuss problems and recommend solutions; and to provide input into existing and proposed safety and health programs.
Members of the committee are entitled to time off from work for authorized activities related to the responsibility of the committee or representative
The Committee will review injuries and accidents.
The Committee has the power to make recommendations to the employer on ways to improve workplace safety and health. The employer must respond in writing to any written recommendations within twenty one (21) days.
The Safety and Health Committee must be present at the investigation of work refusal. If a worker is killed or critically injured on the job, the Committee has the obligation to inspect the scene of the accident and any machine, equipment, substance, etc. that may be connected with the accident.
The Safety and Health Committee is entitled to request the annual summary of information from the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba about compensation claims related to the workplace of the employer.
This information includes:
Number of fatalities
Number of lost-time injuries
Number of work days lost
Number of injuries requiring medical aid but did not involve lost work days
Incidence of occupational illnesses
Number of occupational injuries
The Committee may from time to time come across confidential information. The Committee may not:
Disclose any information about any workplace test or inquiries conducted under the Act or regulations
Reveal the name of any person from whom information is received
Disclose any secret or trade information, etc.
Disclose the results of any medical examinations or test of workers in a way that identifies the individual(s)
Committee members will not be held personally liable for anything done or omitted in good faith.
Selection of Committee Members
The employees of Southwest Horizon School Division will select committee members. Southwest Horizon School Division will choose the remaining members from persons in the workplace who exercise managerial functions. Committee members will be selected as vacancies occur through a nomination and voting process.
Training of Committee Members
Southwest Horizon School Division will ensure that two members of the committee (one representing workers and one representing persons who exercise managerial functions) are adequately trained to perform their duties. The committee will receive 16 hours of professional development per year as per the Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health Regulation.
Powers and Responsibilities of a Committee Member
It is the function of a committee and the committee has the power to:
Identify situations that may be a source of danger or hazard to workers;
Receive complaints relating to the safety and health of employees, consider these complaints and address them;
Make recommendations to the constructor or employer and the workers for the improvement of the safety and health of workers;
Recommend to the constructor or employer and the workers: the establishment, maintenance and monitoring of programs, measures and procedures respecting the health or safety of workers;
Obtain information from the constructor or employer respecting, the identification of potential or existing hazards of materials, processes or equipment, and safety and health experience and work practices and standards in similar or other industries of which the constructor or employer has knowledge;
Obtain information from the constructor or employer concerning the conducting or taking of tests of any equipment, machine, device, article, thing, material or biological, chemical or physical agent in or about a workplace for the purpose of occupational safety and health;
Management Support
Our Executive team supports our safety committee and has instructed our safety committee to:
Identify and assess potential unsafe conditions in our workplace;
Make recommendations to management for the improvement of the safety and health of all employees;
Review and make recommendations to management regarding the ongoing maintenance and monitoring procedures of all safety and health issues in the workplace;
Assist with hazard identification and control reports, inspection reports and accident investigation reports and where appropriate, make recommendations;
Physically meet and then inspect the workplace at intervals of not less than once every month.
Legal Requirements – Employer's Duty
Southwest Horizon School Division shall provide employees with the information, instruction, training and supervision necessary to ensure their safety and health.
Southwest Horizon School Division shall ensure that each employee is informed of every known or foreseeable safety and health hazard in the area where the employee works. The School Division shall train their employees to ensure that all hazardous substances are stored, handled and used in the manner prescribed.