News briefs: OHS news from across Canada and around the world

Ontario correctional officers can wear safety vests at own discretion

HAMILTON — Corrections officers can wear safety vests at their own discretion at the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre (HWDC) in Hamilton.

When guards at HWDC discovered a broken piece of metal in the facility was missing, they worried a weapon may be in circulation with the inmates. Management refused the guards’ request to wear safety vests, arguing it interfered with the guards’ relationships with the inmates. As a result, the guards refused to work, citing unsafe working conditions.

An agreement was reached between the Ministry of Community Safety and Correction Services and the Ontario Public Service Employee Union (OPSEU) in September.

The parties agreed correctional officers in every institution across Ontario will now be allowed to wear their protective vests at any time during the course of their duties.

OFL launches hotline in wake of fatal ‘gas-and-dash’ tragedy

TORONTO — The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) has launched an anonymous hotline for people to report incidences of gasoline companies taking wages from employees to cover the cost of theft after a Toronto gas station attendant was killed Sept. 15.

Jayesh Prajapati, a worker at a Shell station, was run over when he tried to stop a SUV from taking off with $112 worth of stolen gasoline. Prajapati’s friends told the Toronto Star that he likely tried to stop the thief because he didn’t want to have his wages docked.

The OFL believes many gas stations are docking wages, said president Sid Ryan, even though the practice is illegal under Ontario’s Employment Standards Act.

The OFL’s Bad Gas Rip-Off Hotline is (800) 668-9138.

Ontario looks to help workers with job-related post-traumatic mental stress

Ontario is launching a roundtable to help workers who suffer from job-related post-traumatic mental stress, the provincial government announced.

This new roundtable will be led by a facilitator and will bring together representatives from high-risk sectors, such as police, emergency medical services and transit services, where workers may, as a result of their job, be at risk of developing a traumatic mental stress injury — such as post-traumatic stress disorder. The roundtable will focus on:

• finding the best ways to promote awareness, education and training initiatives
• identifying and sharing approaches and best practices to deal with post-traumatic mental stress in the workplace through prevention, early diagnosis and intervention.

Canadians can recognize medical emergencies, but aren’t confident they could help out: Poll

OTTAWA — Canadians appear relatively confident in their ability to recognize the signs of a medical emergency, but are significantly less confident in their abilities to help a person who is experiencing a medical emergency, according to a poll commissioned by the Canadian Red Cross.

Nine in 10 are “confident” they could recognize when someone is choking, according to the online survey of 2,015 Canadians, while 73 per cent say they’re certain they could recognize when someone is experiencing a heart attack or cardiac emergency.

A majority (65 per cent) are also confident they could recognize when someone is experiencing a heat emergency or anaphylactic shock (62 per cent). One-half (49 per cent) are positive they could recognize when someone has experienced a concussion.

When Canadians were asked how confident they are in their skills to be able to help someone experiencing these conditions, 67 per cent said they were confident they could help someone who is choking, while only 55 per cent said they could help someone who is experiencing a heat emergency.

The survey was conducted by Ipsos Reid’s Canadian online panel between July 3-8, 2012.

Family violence front-line workers in NWT receive specialized training

YELLOWKNIFE — Residents of the Northwest Territories who assist and support those affected by family violence are receiving specialized training, says the region’s Department of Justice.

The three-day training fulfills recommendations from a 2011 evaluation of the Protection Against Family Violence Act, as well as the N.W.T.’s commitment to address how working with victims of crime affects workers both professionally and personally.

Front-line responders from the RCMP, shelter workers and victim services will learn from professionals on the nature of violence and the best ways to respond to victims and perpetrators.

Chinese firm pleads guilty in Canadian oil mine deaths

FORT MCMURRAY, ALTA. — A Chinese-owned oil company building a massive storage tank in northern Alberta has pleaded guilty to several safety charges related to the death of two temporary foreign workers.

In 2006, Sinopec Shanghai Engineering Canada (SSEC) hired 132 Mandarin-speaking temporary foreign workers from China to work at a Canadian Natural Resources (CNRL) project, located north of Fort McMurray, Alta., where they were to build large metal storage tanks.

When the project began to fall behind schedule because the foreign workers were late getting to the site, SSEC revised the construction schedule so that part of the project would happen simultaneously, according to court documents

CNRL agreed to the changes, but requested the work be done under its own construction management team; however, SSEC started the work before CNRL’s team arrived on site.

The two workers were killed when the roof support structure of a massive storage tank collapsed on them while they were welding the wall from inside.

Under Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Act, a total of 53 charges were laid.

SSEC pleaded guilty to three charges, while another 11 charges against the company were withdrawn. All charges against CNRL were stayed.