Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

The British Columbia Regional Union Health & Safety Committee, referred herein as the BRUSH, has developed this plan, which was approved at the last meeting, September 23 2009.

This committee shall be comprised of Health & Safety activists from across the British Columbia (BC) Region and chaired by the Health & Safety (H&S) Councilor of the B.C. Regional Council. It is expected that the Alternate BC Regional H&S Councilor will also be a standing member of this committee. The Public Service Alliance of Canada (the PSAC) staff representative to this committee shall be the Regional Representative responsible for H&S.

As this committee is devoted to the inclusion and promotion of Health & Safety, it is expected that the majority of decisions will be by consensus. In the rare event that a vote is required all participants in attendance at the meeting where voting takes place are entitled to vote.

In building this document, the committee took into consideration the strategic goals of the PSAC and ways of integrating them into the mandate and plan.

Read more in the Committee Mandate and Plan (pdf).

Minutes BRUSH September 23, 2009

Chair: Sam Wiese (Regional Councilor, H&S)

In Attendance: Louise Richard (NAT), Laura Gracie (CEIU), Bob Jackson (AGR), Tracey Shudo (CEIU), Melvin Dureen (USGE), Virginia Vaillancourt (UVAE), Monique Bakker (UEW), Gail Jewsbury ((UEW), Susan Yaciw (UTE), Kelly Megyesi (CEIU), Paul Croes (CEIU), Alice Woods (UCTE), Jim Sidel (DCL), Barry Cunningham (UCTE), Grace McIvor (NHU), Sargy Chima (CEIU) James Little (PSAC, H&S) and Kay Sinclair (REVP BC).

Regrets: Wayne Little (UTE), Leanne Hughes (NAT), Angela Marafon (UTE), Floyd Knelsen (UTE), Anita Hoffman (CEIU), Megan Adam (UEW).

Agenda

1. Review Previous Minutes
2. Terms of Reference
3. Health Canada – Reduction of Service
4. 2009 National H&S Conference
5. Question from the Membership

• Armed Members – Megan Adam
• Medical Leave – Anita Hoffman
• Big Flood – UVAE

6. Ergonomics – Furniture and Equipment
7. H1N1
8. Food Safety
9. Round Table

1. Introduction – Sam

2. Review of Previous Minutes

Members reviewed the previous minutes and there were no additions or amendments required.

3. Terms of Reference

Sam summarized the revisions to the Draft Terms of Reference and opened the floor for discussion. There were no additional amendments suggested. A vote was taken and the members in attendance have passed the Terms of Reference. Copies of the new Terms of Reference will be circulated to the members of the BRUSH and the Regional Council.

4. Health Canada Reduction of Service

Sam reported on the work that she and Wayne Little had accomplished.

Canada Revenue Agency has amended its policy on workplace accommodation and have negotiated the provision of health services (ergonomic and fit to work assessments) with and outside service provider.

Corrections Services Canada in the lower mainland has contracted its air quality and ergonomic services with a company in Langley at a rate of $175.00/hour.

As of September 10, 2009 there is no service being provided at Environment Canada.

We have not heard anything official from the Treasury Board of Canada and our suspicion is that each department will contract their own independent services. We ask that once these contracts begin to appear that members please ensure this information is shared with the BRUSH. We need to look at this issue from an equity perspective and ensure that the members are being serviced in and equitable manner.

5. 2009 National H&S Conference

One of the main purposes of this meeting was to outline the delegate selection process. Kay Sinclair explained the process and criteria as follows:
• Total Delegates = 300
• Regional Delegates (7 delegates x 7 regions = 49 regional delegates)
• Component Delegates (7 delegates x 17 components = 119 component delegates)
• Component Additional Delegates (300 – 19 – 119 = 162 delegates) the 162 additional delegate seats are allocated to the components on a pro-rata/population basis (larger components = larger portion of the 162 additional delegates)
• Observers

672 applications were received and the conference should have room for ~ 50 observers.

Kay Sinclair REVP BC is chairing the steering committee, which is continuing its work on developing the conference objectives and organizing guest speakers. Members were advised that, like previous H&S conferences, we would be holding a BC Caucus at the end of the conference to develop a Regional Action Plan. Delegates and observers will be expected to assist in the development of that plan.

6. Armed Members

A question was raised “What training or education is being offered to non-armed members who work with or near armed members”. Paul Croes provided a detailed analysis of his experiences within Customs and Immigration, and advised that threat risk assessments have been done and it has been determined that their workplaces are unsafe. Many staff have not accepted the new reality of the work place and training these members has created some difficulties. One of the big issues is Officers walking through the office with loaded hand guns. Initially, they are very careful however over time they become less vigilant and at times lazy. This has resulted in an increase in accidental discharges. The officers receive the standard operating procedures training however this training is not offered to the non-armed staff.

We reviewed procedures within differing departments.
• DFO – Has a non-gun personnel policy
• Customs – They have some armed training procedures
• Parks – Unknown at present
• CSC – All the guns are in posts and training has been provided to those in need.
• Coast Guard – Not a problem and all ammunition is held in storage.

TASK – Jim Sam and Melvin will look at current educational programs with-in departments/agencies and review for non-armed learning opportunities.

7. Medical Leave

There appears to be an increase in the number of members being forced to use their annual leave or sick leave to attend medical appointments of a recurring nature. To address this issue we looked at what the current norms within departments and agencies.

For most collective agreements you will not find leave provisions for medical/dental appointments. For Treasury Board and Agency members leave for medical/dental appointment will be found in the employers Leave With Pay Policy and as such, it does not form part of the collective agreement and is therefore not a matter that can be contested at arbitration/adjudication. This being said, the employer does allow member to take time off for medical/dental however, it is at their discretion and based on their respective Leave Without Pay Policies.

It was emphasized that if this becomes a big work place issue, members should consider using the accommodation argument as this could be seen as an attack on persons with disabilities.

8. Ergonomics

“Did you know that any equipment, divice, technical aid, provided to you for the purpose of workplace accommodation can be moved from one Branch to another or from one Department/Agency to another and that the accommodation provided can accompany you throughout your career in the Federal Public Service” – Safety, Emergency and Security management Division (SESMD), Assets Management Directorate (AMD), Corporate Serviced Brach (CSB).

Information regarding the transfer of ergonomic equipment can also be found in the Policy on the Duty to Accommodate Persons with Disabilities in the Federal Public Service.

Both articles will be posted to the BC H&S website

9. H1N1

Question was raised about vaccinations and H1N1 related sick leave.

In regards to employer provided vaccinations (flue shots), it appears that each department/agency has its own policy.

In terms of sanitation, it is widely known that hand washing is the number one means of prevention and that hand sanitizers, although somewhat effective, should only be used when hand washing is not available. In some offices they are putting hand sanitizers in the washrooms and this should be discouraged and hand washing should be encouraged.

Our front line staff is at serious risk and those with deficient immune systems should be encouraged to get vaccinated. Some departments have put in place pandemic plans in case of a serious outbreak.

If you miss work because of the flue, it will not be compensable by Workers Compensation Boards.

Employers may be sending members home or to the doctor if they are sick and we hope that this policy will also apply to all non-unionized workers/managers in the workplace.

10. Food Safety

Bob Jackson reported on some of the more recent successes of the Food Safety First campaign. The federal government recently announced a 75M dollar increase to food safety which will result in a 35 % increase in meat inspectors (70 new inspectors). Although there are still problems some very good results to report from the hard work of the Agriculture Unions campaign

www.foodsafetyfirst.ca

22 members of the Canadian public died from the Listeriosis outbreak.

11. Lightkeepers Campaign

Alice Woods (UCTE – Coast Guard – Lightkeeper) gave everyone a brief on the de-staffing of the east and west coast lighthouses. There is a petition going around and we hope you will join us in supporting this quality public service.

“This campaign is not about jobs its about safety and service”.

Meeting Adjourned

Next Meeting December 16, 2009

BRUSH MEETING MINUTES, JUNE 25, 2008

Chair: Sam Wiese

In Attendance: James Little, Kirk Oppermann, Jack Seto and Rob Hellenius

By Teleconference: Mandi Schubert, Melvin Dureen, Monique Bakker, Bob Jackson, Grace MacIver, Wayne Little, Carolyn McGillivary

Regrets: Angela Marafon, Diane Beaulieu, Wanda Pocok, Deborah Wong, Diane McArthur, Bill Plemming, Sarah Burns, Thomas Gallagher, Rob Terris, Rob Hynes and Kelly Megyesi

Continue reading below, or download the June 25th BRUSH Committe meeting minutes (pdf)

Reviewed: Agenda

No additions or revisions

Reviewed Minutes From Last Meeting:

January 23, 2008

Explanation was provided on the National Joint Council (NJC) Cyclical Review being conducted and the work that was recently done at the PSAC National H&S Reps meeting.

We have received one regional submission from CFIA regarding Fumigation Hoods.

UTE has started a campaign on Call Centres � Sam wants members to have a look at the UTE website and access the bulletin on Call Centres (Feb 6, 2008). Sam will also contact reps from UTE to discuss how we might assist or hook into their campaign. Also, a forum has been started on our regional H&S webpage.

Issue was also raised about the participation of PIPSC members at our BRUSH meetings. The REVP has been informed of the request and feels the committee should decide. Agreed we should be cautious, and maybe the committee should have a vote or we should discuss at our upcoming Regional H&S Conference. We should contact the PIPSC H&S Rep to discuss.

New terms of reference will be developed for the BRUSH and maybe they should include this in their discussions.

Tabled for now.

Agenda Items:

1. Terms of Reference for the BRUSH

We reviewed the terms of reference from the Atlantic, Ontario and our own. We are no longer tasked with the Environment responsibilities only H&S. We agreed to create a sub committee to review the terms of reference and they will report at the next committee meeting.

Committee Members: Mandi Schubert, Grace MacIver, Wayne Little, Bob Jackson

2. Health and Safety Training

The introduction of H&S Training as a JLP course is still being examined in the respective Head Offices and the prospects look good. Currently we have no H&S training planned for this year with the exception of three one-day courses at this years union school. The courses are Regulations, WCB and DI.

3. WCB Proposal

The idea is to encourage more membership involvement in WCB Advocacy in the BC Region. To do this there will be a requirement for members to play a more active role in WCB Case Management. Similar to the Grievance Process and representation. Their will be an educational component to the proposal and we would be looking at training ~ 50 members over 5 days. Stay tuned.

4. Report from the June 2008 National PSAC H&S Reps Meeting

James attended the regional reps meeting in Ottawa. The national H&S team would like to encourage members to participate in the following campaigns.

• Pregnant and Nursing Women and their rights petition
• Bill 484 Violence Against Fetus � War Against Abortion Rights
• Bill C51 Amendment to Food and Drug Act � however we (PSAC) might come out against this.

5. Right to Refuse Cards

The PSAC has developed wallet sized �Right to Refuse� cards. Let James know if your office or members need some. Some will be available to those in attendance at the next meeting.

6. BC Regional H&S Conference

We need to hold our triennial regional H&S conference before the National PSAC Convention in April 2009. We have been looking at some dates and it looks like February, March or April. We need to establish an organizing committee and finalize the dates. We will have more information for the September meeting.

7. H&S Logo Contest

Our original goal was to create a brand for the BRUSH so we decided to hold a contest to create a new BRUSH Logo. We will promote the contest through the website and hopefully announce the winner at the regional conference.

We should establish an incentive � need to discuss cost.

8. Meeting Start Times

We would like to start the meetings at 5:30. This time seems to work for the majority � some members have difficulty-making meeting this early. It is important that the minutes get out to participants prior to the meeting. James apologized for not attaching the minutes to the e-mail announcing the meeting. We are trying to achieve a regular meeting schedule in conjunction with the BC Fed OH&S meetings (3rd Wednesday of every second month).

9. Silent/Visual Fire Alarms � Item Added by CEIU 20975 Victoria

This is becoming a big issue in the CEIU office in downtown Victoria as well as the DFO office in Nanaimo. Offices with deaf members should have silent/visual alarms installed. They should not rely on evacuation buddy�s or pagers. We would like to put employers on notice that we will be adding this issue to the workplace H&S committee agendas and some suggested solutions are:

• contacting the fire departments
• contacting other social activist groups to put pressure on government
• give ultimatums
• PWGSC�s policy is to provide members with pagers and they are paged immediately once the fire alarm is activated. The experience in Victoria is there is a considerable delay (sometimes 10 minutes) and what if someone is in the bathroom.
• In all new facilities silent/visual alarms are being installed and it is now part of the Canada Building Code.
• The other related issue is the lack of clear guidelines for Floor Wardens
• According to accessibility standards the issue should be raised at the workplace H&S committee meeting and management has 3 months to deal with the issue
• Contact PWGSC for more information

Next meeting Sept 24, 2008 � 5:30 p.m.

The British Columbia Regional Safety and Health Committee (BRUSH) would like to announce an upcoming meeting.

Did you know that any PSAC-BC member can take part in the PSAC-BC BRUSH Committee? Meetings will normally be scheduled two weeks in advance and we will attempt to deal with issues in the workplace, provide education, raise H&S awareness, and much more. Please encourage your local members to participate!

• The next meeting is scheduled for: Wednesday, September 24, 2008 at 5:30 pm.
• The meeting will be held at The Vancouver Regional Office of the PSAC, 5238 Joyce St, Vancouver BC.

Members are encouraged to attend in person however members who are unable to attend in person can join the meeting via teleconference. We ask that you please provide us with any agenda items and we will send out the Teleconference co-ordinates along with the agenda and previous minutes next week.

Please RSVP

In Solidarity, James Little – Regional Representative Health and Safety

Agenda Items:

1. Terms of Reference for BC Regional H&S Committee
2. Right to Refuse Cards
3. BC Regional H&S Conference
   • Organizing Committee
   • Content
   • Dates
4. H&S Logo Contest
5. National PSAC Convention � H&S Resolutions
6. H&S Resolutions from Component Conventions
7. Round Table

The British Columbia Regional Safety and Health Committee (BRUSH) would like to announce an upcoming meeting. Meetings will normally be scheduled two weeks in advance and we will attempt to deal with issues at the workplace, provide education, raise H&S awareness, and much more.

Please encourage your local H&S Activists and members to participate!

The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, June 25, 2008 beginning at 5:30 PM. Members can attend in person at the PSAC Vancouver Regional Office, #200 – 5238 Joyce Street in Vancouver or via conference call: please email James Little for details.

Minutes – BRUSH Committee Meeting – January 23, 2008 (amended)

Chair

• Joy Hennen CEIU

In Attendance

• Floyd Knelsen CRA
• Chuck Leech ALTERNATE – USGE
• Gail Jewsbury – UEW
• Tom Gallager GSU
• Gordon Law WESTERN ECONOMICS
• Melvin Dureen – USGE
• Stephen Chessor CUDA
• James Little BC PSAC, Regional Representative
• Robert Hellenius Commissionaire
• Raheman nur Mohamed CIUE
• Ray King
• Neil MacKay
• Kelly Legacy – Vernon – CEIU
• Carolyn McGillivray – White Rock CBSA
• Gwen Williams – SSO, NAT
• Sam Weise – CEIU
• Monique Bakker

Regrets

• Wayne Little UTE

Agenda Items:

1. BC PSAC Health and Safety webpage and forum.
2. New COSH Regulation XX Violence update.
3. New COSH Hazard Prevention Regulation XIX amendments (Ergonomics).
4. Report from the PSAC National H&S Rep’s Meeting.
5. Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) Infections.
6. Work Reorganization and Call Centres.
7. Succession Planning.
8. H&S Logo Contest
9. PIPS participation in the PSAC BRUSH Committee.
10. Lancaster House Audio Conference – Benefits for Disabled Workers Navigating the Maze

Roundtable of introductions

Agenda Item #1 was moved to the end of agenda

Acceptance of previous minutes – m/s/c chuck/ floyd

1. COSH Regulation XX, Violence – The COSH has created a new Regulation to address Violence in the workplace. Violence Prevention in the Work Place forms Part XX of the Canada Occupational Health and Safety (COHS) Regulations, which are made pursuant to Part II of the Canada Labour Code (Code), the purpose of which is: to prevent accidents and injury to health arising out of, linked with, or occurring in the course of employment in the federal jurisdiction. The regulations appear in the December 15, 2007, edition of the Canada Gazette Part I (see volume 141, no 50, pages 3455 to 3459).

2. New Ergonomic Regulation Update – The COSH Regulation XIX Hazard Prevention has been amended to include Ergonomics. The brand new regulation is now law, the PSAC provided input into the regulation however much of our input was not included in the final document. The new regulation is available on the BC PSAC Website and Forum page.

3. Report from the PSAC National H & S rep’s meeting – The PSAC Regional H&S Rep’s have been meeting twice a year to discuss issues related to H&S. We have two national officers who, among other things review regulatory amendments negotiate the NJC agreements on H&S.

NJC covers broad based issues of concern to all employees in the government – all unions, not just PSAC. NJC is conducting a cyclical review of the H&S directives. We have the opportunity to provide input into the process. They have just completed directive A and are now working on B, C and D. These directives are very specific in nature and deal with things like Elevated Work Structures, Motor Vehicle Operations, Materials Handleing, PPE’s and Electrical Safety. The PSAC National H&S Officers would like us to look at the directives and see if we have any concerns about them or the language in them. The information will be provided on the BC PSAC H&S Website and Forum Page. We have until the end of summer 2008 to complete the task at which time Denis St. Jean, the national officer responsible for this, will do the final write up.

4. Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) Infections – The Commissionairs in Vancouver had a serious problem with MRSA’s and some immigrant detainees. The Commissionairs currently run the detention cells for CBSA dealing with immigrant detainees. Rob Hellenius is familiar with MRSA via other sources. Gloves and hand washing do not enough protection against the spread of infection as suggested by the health nurse at the jail. There appears to be lots of misinformation about MRSA. Management thought that they had a spider infestation. There are two types of MRSA, facility acquired and community acquired. This can cause loss of limb, skin facetious, lung facetious. In Canada we do not have any protocols. Rob has asked PSAC for help. Initially we were close to a Section 128 “right to refuse” situation – but there were some protocols introduced and there probably was not imminent danger.. We needed to bring this to the attention of the employer, the commissionaires, and CBSA and ensure the safe transfer individuals. We have decided to follow the Section 127 “internal complaint resolution process” at this time.

Rob advises that a1/3 of the Canadian population carries MRSA and surfaces can remain infectious for up to two weeks.

CL has gone through this a couple of times at Matsqui. Senior management was notified by the hospital, health team called, and the person was isolated.

MD – currently CSC is coming up with a draft of a pandemic response paper. Generally it is after the fact, rather than preventative. They are dealing with infectious diseases such as Hep C, Hep B,

The H&S Rep for BC PSAC contacted Health Canada, and spoke with occupational health nurse (Ruth Nicholson). She does a lot of training for customs people at the airports around this issue. She would be willing to do some training around this issue for other concerned employees

There was a general discussion around the need for protocols and the proper use of PPE’s in relation to MRSA’s

5. Work Reorganization and Call centres – CEIU – Neil and Rahmen work as EI call centre agents in harbour centre. They raise the issue of work conditions in call centres and the impact that it has on call centre workers. Characterized by stress, burn out, and absenteeism. The PSAC has raised the issue of poor work conditions with management but with no success. Most issues are best addressed via H&S. The CEIU (Service Canada) members want to draw attention to the following issues (work environment, tethered to a desk, monitoring and surveillance of the work force, high call volumes, non stop, on phones 6.5 hours out of 7 hours. 2 sec break, etc). The employers emphasis is on quantity not quality. The results are burn out, frustration, hi turn over rate, hi absenteeism, managements insistence on doctor’s notes, low morale and intense work environment.

CBSA has a large call centre in Winnipeg and CRA have several call centres across the country. In the most recent minutes of the National Board of Directors (NBoD) meeting the PSAC President reported on Work Reorganization and Call Centres was one of his top issues. He indicated that the PSAC has one of the two seats representing the House of Labour on the Board of Govenors for Contact Centre Canada the sector council for organizations the are involved in the contact centre industries. The BC PSAC H&S Rep talked to Howie West the National Rep responsible for Work Reorganization, who informed us that there is a National PSAC working group on call centres. They have conducted a survey and the results are near completion. The PSAC Components are well represented in the working groups however; they have not met in quite some time.

The BC PSAC H&S Rep will contact Howie again to determine the names of the representatives on the call centre working group. Joy indicated that CEIU is looking for a new building to house 500 – 700 people as a call centre with processing. Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is available for members.

ACTION:

Joy – will get in touch with the CEIU group involved with call centres.
James – will contact Howie for names of members on the working groups.
Rahmen – will again raise the issue at his local H&S committee and raise the issue to the regional and national level.

6. Succession Planning – Joy is not running for a second term and any candidate for the BC Regional Council seat for H&S must be a member of the BRUSH.

7. BC PSAC H&S LOGO Contest – The canary in the cage is a good H&S symbol and it must be incorporated into all Logo Contest entries. The contest should conclude prior to the BC Regional Convention in April so that the wining entry can be revealed at the Convention.

8. PIPSC Participation – We have received a request from PIPS members in BC who wish to participate in our BRUSH meetings. Some thoughts were our need to be cautious and that we should contact PIPSC to determine if they have any objections. The REVP BC PSAC was informed and she wants the committee to decide. Some members would like to be inclusive and others are opposed.

Action: James – will contact Denis St. Jean to see if they have any concerns.

9. Lancaster House Audio Conference – Benefits for Disabled Workers Navigating the Maze – We purchased the audio tape of some of this conferences. This subject matter deals with WCB, DI and other benefits (EAP, fit to work) and is about 1 hr to 1.25 hours. We would like to schedule a time and place for airing the audio conference and we would like to hold the meeting in conjunction with the Human Rights Committee. Try something new for people who cannot get to the office. It will be broadcast on the DVD player and then will go over the conference call via the speakers.

10. BC PSAC Health and Safety Website and Forum – www.psacbc.com – We introduced the new BC PSAC Website and Forum page and explained how to access and register for the Forum. We feel that a lot of our current issues can be addressed in this new format and we will be inviting the rest of the PSAC members to also join in the discussions.

Meeting Adjourned

Members in Victoria recently had the opportunity to attend a Workplace Health & Public Safety Programme (WHPSP) Seminar put on by Health Canada. The seminar was designed to instruct members on the following issues:

* WHPSP’s “Occupational Health Assessment Guide” (OHAG)
* Treasury Board’s “Occupational Health Evaluation Standard”
* Health Canada’s WHPSP Health Assessment Services
* The other services WHPSP offers

For those of you that were unable to attend Health Canada has provided us with a copy of the following OHAG Workshop Powerpoint Presentation.

Minutes – BC Regional Union Safety & Health meeting

Attending:

• Bob Jackson
• Monique Bakker
• Mel Dureen
• Jason Komaromi
• Wayne Little
• Floyd Knelson
• Chuck Leach
• Bill Pleming
• Thomas Gallagher
• Steven Chesser
• Mandi Schubert
• Gail Jewsbury
• Sam Weiss
• Kelly Megasi
• Joy Hennen (Chair)
• James Little (Staff H&S Rep)

Previous minutes accepted as reviewed. Bob Jackson, Jason Komaromi M/S.

(more…)

At the last National Health and Safety Conference the BC delegates decided that they wanted to have a survey done of all the Health and Safety Activists in the Region. This would allow the Brush Committee to plan for events that the Activists are wanting to see happen.

If you are a health and safety activist, or want to be, please complete this brief survey.

Fill out the survey online, or download the health and safety survey and mail or fax it back to the Vancouver Regional Office: (604)430-0451 or 200 – 5238 Joyce Street, Vancouver BC V5R6C9.