intro ohs canada.july2012
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Introduction to Occupational Health and Safety in Canada and Canadian Auto Plants
For Russian Auto Plant UnionJuly 2012
Cathy Walker
Former Director (retired)
Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) Health and Safety Department
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Greetings from Canada, world’s second largest country by land mass, with Russia being the first, of course
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Our population is tiny by comparison with yours
34 million in Canada
142 million in Russia
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Your symbol is the fierce Russian bear
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Our symbol is the little beaver
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Nonetheless we have much in common as workers and trade unionists
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Auto plant workers in Canada
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Auto plant workers in Russia
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Auto plant workers in China
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Auto plant workers in Mexico
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We have the same issues and the same problems
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The world used to be easier to understand, didn’t it?
Two superpowers: U.S. and Soviet Union
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The world changed in 1989
The Soviet Union imploded
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Something significant happened in Canada in 1989 too
Does anyone know who this guy is?
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Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the United States and Canada
Even though the majority of Canadians were opposed to it
Effective January 1, 1989
Its purpose was to benefit American corporations
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Ronald Reagan and Brian Mulroney were implementing the corporate agenda of globalization
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Corporate Agenda of Globalization:Characteristics
“Free” Trade
Privatization
De-regulation
Bad for public sector workers and bad for private sector workers
Unfettered capitalism
Attempts to destroy our solidarity
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What is Free Trade?Karl Marx knew in 1848
“What is free trade under the present condition of society? It is freedom of capital. When you have overthrown the few national barriers which still restrict the progress of capital, you will merely have given it complete freedom of action. So long as you let the relation of wage labor to capital exist, it does not matter how favorable the conditions under which the exchange of commodities takes place, there will always be a class which will exploit and a class which will be exploited.”
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What effect did the Free Trade Agreement have on the health and safety of Canadians?
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Workers Suffered from Speed Up
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What year was this picture taken?What are they signing?
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Clinton signing NAFTA, 1993North American Free Trade Agreement
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NAFTA effective January 1, 1994
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The Mexican people knew what NAFTA was really all about; led to Zapatista uprising in Chiapas
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What effect did NAFTA have on the health and safety of Canadians?
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We surveyed our members in auto assembly and auto parts to find out
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CAW -- McMaster University Auto Parts Study1,600 workers in 1995
Conditions are bad:61% said their workload is too much 40% said they worked in pain at least half the time 44% said their job is more tense than it was 2 years ago 55% said they couldn't keep up the current pace until age 60 53% said they worked as fast as they could most of each day 37% said they worked in an awkward position at least half of the day
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CAW -- McMaster University Auto Parts Study1,600 workers in 1995
And they were getting worse:41% said their health risks at work were higher than 2 years before
45% said they were more tired after work than 2 years before
52% said their workload was heavier now than 2 years before
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That’s the problem we faced: what did we do about it?
We fought free trade on the political front
We fought the effects of free trade in the workplace
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Participated in broader struggle against globalization, FTAA and WTOQuebec City, April 2001
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Our health and safety representatives and local union leadership fought speed-up and advocated ergonomics on a daily basis
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We bargained contract language on ergonomics and time study
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Companies should spend
As much money on making workers comfortable in their work as they do making customers comfortable in the cars
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Large auto assembly plants:full time union OHS, Ergo and Time Study representatives
Chosen by the union (OHS usually by election) but paid for by the employer
In order to compel the employer to pay for the full time OHS rep, we have to bargain this in our collective agreements
“time as required”
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We encouraged workers to refuse work that was likely to endanger them
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Poster:
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RSI Campaign -- Nationally
RSI Awareness Day, began on February 29th, the non-repeating day of the year; then on February 28th thereafter
In workplaces and communities the campaign had posters, leaflets, meetings, and education and training including one day educationals
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Ergonomics Regulation Campaign Nationally to mirror what we’d bargained
We were successful in some provinces and in the national jurisdiction
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Canadian workers have a long history of struggle over health and safety
Union campaigns on the injustice of child labour, including children killed and maimed at the workplace, brought us workers’ compensation in 1913
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Asbestos: Killer dustCanada was the major source of asbestos for the world for decades
1949 major strike among asbestos miners demanding reduced dust levels; fought the U.S. corporation, the church and the state
Major political effect for Quebec: Quiet Revolution
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1970s, big strike wave over occupational health and safety
Once again, Quebec asbestos miners struck over need to reduce dust levels
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Elliott Lake Uranium Mineworkers in 1970s
Dying from silicosis and lung cancer
As well as from hazardous falls of rock
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Workers’ struggles have produced better lawsIn 1974-5 in Ontario, miners struck Elliott Lake uranium mines over health and safety issues
This led to a Royal Commission to study the problem in 1976
Recommended Occupational Health and Safety Act, became law in 1979
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The new law had some strengths and weaknesses,and these continue today
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Employers: responsible to provide a healthy and safe workplace; workers have little power
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Workers Must Have a Voice
For it is they who suffer injuries and occupational diseaseWorkers know the hazards of the workplace best and they know the likely solutions bestThe new law guaranteed workers’ voice through the joint occupational health and safety committee system
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Problem: Joint OHS Committees have no power
Ironically, despite OHS committees being composed of half employer representatives, these same committees have no power to make decisions, but must make recommendations to the employer
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Solution:
Follow the examples of Sweden and Norway and give joint OHS Committees the power to make decisions which the employer must follow
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Problem:If we give Joint OHS Committees the power to make decisions, committees may often stalemate
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Solution:
Once again, copy Northern Europe where workers are in a majority on Joint OHS Committees
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Other solutions to ineffective OHS Committees:
Copy the Australian states of Victoria & Queensland
Give workers’ health and safety representatives the power to write Provisional Improvement Notices
These act as posted orders on the employer for health and safety violations
The employer must comply within 7 days or appeal to the government regulatory agency
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Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004Provisional Improvement NoticeEmployer Health and Safety Representative
Name/Company Name First name Last name
Street no. Street name Name of Designated Work Group
Suburb or Region Postcode Union
Served to –
First name Last nameDate issued Compliance date
Position Must be at least eight Days After the issue date
In accordance with Section 60 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004, I, the Health and Safety Representative named above, am of the opinion that you, the Employer/Person named above:(a) are contravening a provision of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and/or regulations;
or(b) have contravened a provision of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and/or regulations in circumstances that make it likely that the contravention will continue or be repeated.The Provision of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 or Regulations or I believe has been contravened is:
The reason for my opinion is:
In accordance with Section 61 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004, the measures I believe you should take to remedy the contravention are:
Signature of Health and Safety RepresentativeUnion:
Signature of person serviced to Date received:
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Give Worker OHS Representatives the right to shut down hazards
This was originally contemplated, but then government caved-in to employer pressure and provided a bi-lateral right to shutdown, which is meaningless
But we’ve done this through practice in our workplaces
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Give Worker OHS Representatives the power to approve or reject new equipment
The master agreements with General Motors, Ford and Chrysler give the union health and safety representatives the right to approve or reject new equipment
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Problem:In non-union situations, the employer representatives often dominate the OHS Committee
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Solution: Make it easier to unionize
Penalize employers who engage try to keep unions out
Prohibit strike-breaking
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1970s in the auto plants: if the workers didn’t like something, they wouldn’t work; they were protected; they had our union
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History of Struggle
We want workers to understand that our OHS laws were achieved through workers’ and unions’ struggles
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Better regulations through struggleIn 1986-7, hundreds members of our union at Toronto area aerospace plants, McDonnell Douglas and DeHavilland refused to work for weeks over the right to know about workplace hazards (chemicals)
Cleaned up their workplace and set the stage for new law
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WHMIS (Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System)
Tri-partite committee (labour, employers and government) drafted the WHMIS system
WHMIS became law in 1988 across Canada:
labelling of chemical containers
Material Safety Data Sheets (detailed information)
worker education and training
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Our Canadian OHS system is far from perfect
We know we have a long way to go
Sweden and Norway have better laws than us
Employers and right-wing governments try to take away what we’ve won
And we know that fundamentally
The class struggle is never over
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Thanks very much