Worker with 37 years of service fired for safety violations • Ontario WSIB’s unfunded liability decreasing: Witmer • Labour capacity losses to double by 2050 as climate warms: Study • Australian miners fired for doing the ‘Harlem Shake’
Worker with 37 years of service fired for safety violations
MISSISSAUGA, ONT. — The dismissal of an Ontario employee with 37 years of service, but multiple instances of occupational health and safety (OHS) violations, has been upheld by an arbitrator.
Frank Marsiglia, 58, worked for Tonolli Canada, a lead and industrial materials recycling company. Over the course of his employment, Marsiglia received several warnings and suspensions for failing to follow the company’s OHS policies.
After being caught not wearing mandatory safety equipment while working and then displaying insubordination towards his supervisors the next day, Tonolli terminated his employment.
After filing a grievance, Marsiglia acknowledged his misconduct and expressed remorse over his failure to follow policies. However, the arbitrator wasn’t convinced Marsiglia understood the importance of following OHS policies, nor that he really felt sorry for his misconduct — particularly given his history of safety violations.
“It takes an appropriate timely acknowledgement of the misconduct and an apology which fully accepts responsibility and demonstrates true remorse to raise the mitigation value of a lengthy seniority to a level sufficient to induce an arbitrator to seriously consider reinstating a discharged (employee) guilty of serious repeated health and safety misconduct,” the arbitrator said.
Ontario WSIB’s unfunded liability decreasing: Witmer
TORONTO — Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) is expecting close to a $1 billion in reduction to its unfunded liability, pegged last year at $14.2 billion.
“We are obviously operating in a way that is much more fiscally responsible and accountable and so our unfunded liability, it appears — I don’t have the final numbers — that it’s down to approximately $13.3 billion,” said WSIB chair Elizabeth Witmer.
The news was shared with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) in a roundtable discussion Witmer had with its members on March 6 in Toronto.
Meet Ontario’s new labour minister
TORONTO — Yasir Naqvi, MPP for Ottawa Centre, has been appointed as the new minister of labour by Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne. Naqvi was first elected to represent the riding of Ottawa Centre in 2007. He has served as the parliamentary assistant to the minister of finance, the minister of community safety and correctional services, the minister of revenue and the minister of education.
Prior to his election, Naqvi was the associate director and international trade counsel at the Centre for Trade Policy and Law (CTPL). Before joining CTPL, he practiced international trade law with Lang Michener LLP and Flavell Kubrick LLP.
Labour capacity losses to double by 2050 as climate warms: Study
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Heat-stress related labour capacity losses will double globally by 2050 with a warming climate, according to a recent study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The impact will be felt the most by those who work outside or in hot environments, the study says, listing professions such as firefighters, bakery workers, farmers, construction workers and factory workers as the most vulnerable. Mid-latitude and tropical regions, which include South and East Asia, North America, and Australia also have increased vulnerability, according to the study.
The research uses existing occupational health and safety thresholds to establish a new metric to quantify a healthy, acclimated individual’s capacity to safely perform sustained labour under environmental heat stress. Heat stress can result in heat stroke, heat exhaustion, heat cramps, and can also increase the risk of injuries. Age, obesity, and medical conditions such as heart disease or high blood pressure can also put workers at greater risk of heat stress.
Australian miners fired for doing the ‘Harlem Shake’
AGNEW, AUSTRALIA (Reuters) — Citing safety concerns, an Australian mining services company has fired up to 15 workers who performed an underground version of the “Harlem Shake” and posted it online.
The workers were part of an overnight crew working at the Agnew Mine in Western Australia.
The 30-second video posted on YouTube shows a group of miners, some wielding tools and shirtless, performing the Harlem Shake, a recent Internet phenomenon which typically begins with a one solo dancer who is quickly joined by others, often in costumes or with props
