Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

To: PSAC members in BC

As you may know, Bill 257 (Anti-scab legislation) was defeated on March 21 during the 3rd reading in the House of Commons 177 votes to 122 votes. Despite this, we have a lot to be proud of. The CLC coordinated a well organized campaign of which the PSAC played a key role both in BC and in Ottawa. And we couldn’t have done so without your participation.

Many of you took the time to write, phone, fax and email your MP to build support for the bill. In particular, our Area Councils sent letters to each MP in their region identifying the number of PSAC members in their riding affected by the bill.

I want to thank all of you: your hard work and positive response to our repeated requests for support are much appreciated. While I’m disappointed that more MPs did not support working people on this issue (and we will remember them at election time, scroll down to see how they all voted) I truly believe that our union is stronger from this experience.

Thanks again. In Solidarity, Kay Sinclair, REVP BC

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Relatives, unions decry declining standards.

Did Amarjit Kaur Bal, Sarabjit Kaur Sidhu and Sukhwinder Kaur Punia die in vain? The results from a meeting held March 15 in downtown Vancouver may determine the answer to that question.

• B.C. Fed submits recommendations to improve working conditions & safety of BC farmworkers
• Read a history of BC farmworkers

Family members of farmworkers killed in the roll-over accident of an overloaded labour contractor’s van last week and leaders of the B.C. labour movement met on the morning of March 15 with Minister of Labour Olga Ilich and Minister of Agriculture Pat Bell in Vancouver. They presented a comprehensive list of 30 proposals to remedy safety and employment standards abuses in B.C. fields and greenhouses. The submission to the ministers also calls on the government to strike down a controversial memorandum signed by the BC Liberals and the province’s large agricultural organizations, which critics say has paved the way for lax enforcement of safety and employment standards protections in the industry.

Read more at thetyee.ca.

PSAC members want better health, safety and environmental regulations and more rigorous enforcement

PSAC members must make use of every forum available to speak out against deregulation and the implementation of measures that weaken their health and safety protection and their environment.

This was one of the messages heard at the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) National Health and Safety Conference held in Ottawa from January 19 to 21, 2007. PSAC National President, John Gordon, told delegates that “Canadians need a government that responds to the public’s needs, not to the desires of large corporations. We all need quality public services provided by our unionized members, who enjoy good health and safety protection. It’s our challenge, but it’s also our right,” he added.

• You can also read John Gordon’s speech at the Conference.
• See some pictures of the Conference.

More than 300 PSAC members attended the Conference, the theme of which was “Regulation Works”. Together union members devised strategies to: counter the federal government’s push to scale down occupational health and safety and environmental regulations; improve enforcement of health and safety legislation to better protect workers; and, dispel the myth of the careless employee. Members also debated resolutions some of which will be forwarded to the Alliance Executive Committee for action and the rest will be forwarded to the next PSAC Triennial Convention.

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Health and Safety Level II

This advanced Occupational Health & Safety Course has been designed to allow workplace Health and Safety committee members, worker representatives and activists to develop tools, resources and strategies to tackle more complex Health and Safety issues in their workplaces. The course will take place March 9,10,11 at the Hilton in Burnaby.

• Apply online for this course (deadline: Feb 9th)
  

The course will explore the general concepts of legislation relevant to the safety field and through a comprehensive review of the Canada Labour Code Part II, will set the tone for introducing the concepts of workers’ compensation, safety regulation, due diligence, consultation and enforcement.

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The BC Federation of Labour is seeking young workers (18-30 years old) to facilitate workshops in high schools about workplace health and safety. The goal of this Project is to educate workers and students about Occupational Health and Safety hazards and solutions and thereby contribute to preventing injuries, illnesses, diseases and deaths in BC workplaces. We currently seeking to identify young workers who are interested in facilitating these workshops.  The goal is to have a diverse group of facilitators from across the province.

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The British Columbia Federation of Labour (BC Fed) is offering numerous upcoming Occupational Health and Safety Educational opportunities. These courses are single day events at a cost of $85.00. The following is a list of courses being offered

Registration forms can be obtained through the BC Fed’s website or by contacting James Little at the BC PSAC office. For further information, please visit the BC Federation of Labours Occupational Health & Safety Education Resource Center.

2007 PSAC National Health and Safety Conference - “Regulation Works!”

Conference objectives

• The objectives of the 2007 PSAC National Health and Safety Conference are:
• To outline the current government and employer agenda which includes deregulation and to demonstrate how it will affect our health, safety and environmental rights.
• To develop a union agenda to counter the move towards deregulation of health, safety and environmental protections and employer voluntary compliance.
• To expose the misrepresentation behind the current “behavioural-based safety programs” being promoted by employers which rework the classic “blame the worker” theory.
• To develop union tactics to counter the “myth of the careless worker”.
• To examine the current state of enforcement of health and safety legislation in order to develop union-based strategies that will better protect workers.

The conference will take place January 19-21, 2007 in Ottawa. The registration deadline is October 5^th and the resolutions submission deadline is October 20^th.

Visit the national website for more information, and to register online.

As per the AEC decision with respect to the Steering and Resolutions Committees for the 2007 National Health and Safety Conference, this serves as the call for proposed names to sit on the above-mentioned committees.

Members interested in participating on these National H&S Conference committees should forward their application c/o the REVP BC Office, #302-5238 Joyce Street, Vancouver, V5R 6C9. Fax 604 430 0194.

The deadline for receipt by that office is May 11, 2006.

While the Canadian flag on Parliament Hill flies at half-mast on April 28, workers observe a moment of silence in remembrance of those workers killed or seriously injured on the job.

The National Day of Mourning was officially recognized by the federal government in 1991, eight years after it was launched by the labour movement in Canada. The Day of Mourning has since spread to over 80 countries around the world. Here is a list of Day of Mourning events in BC (pdf).

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Georgetti says it’s time to enforce the rules and protect workers’ health and safety

OTTAWA – On Friday, flags will be lowered and working people across the country will take a few moments to remember their friends, family and colleagues who have died from workplace injuries. For the past 22 years, April 28 has been recognized as a National Day of Mourning to both reflect and focus on making Canada’s workplaces healthier and safer.

“People go to work so they can build a better life for themselves and their families. Nothing is more important for a worker, especially a young worker, than having the confidence that their workplace is safe and they are protected from harm,” says Ken Georgetti, president of the Canadian Labour Congress, marking the day with workers at a ceremony in Kamloops, British Columbia.

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Last year 188 workers died due to job-related injury or disease, the highest level in 25 years, and a 40 percent increase from the previous year. This included 43 forestry workers, 39 workers in the construction sector and 11 young workers.Sadly, despite our warnings, this is a clear indictment of the BC Liberals’ agenda of cuts and deregulation. Workplace inspections by WCB have fallen by 44 percent since 2001, and the resulting value of penalties has dropped by 57 percent.

This week the B.C. Federation of Labour has been lobbying MLAs about the immediate need to restore protections of workers’ health and safety, and the need to restore dignity to compensation and benefits for injured workers and their families.

This Friday, April 28th, is the annual Day of Mourning where we will join together to “fight for the living and mourn for the dead.”

We are encouraging all of you to participate in various events throughout your community. Here is a list of Day of Mourning events in BC (pdf).

Your presence will send an important message to politicians and employers that we won’t stop fighting until workers’ health and safety is fully protected.

via BC Federation of Labour

By Bill Tieleman

The voice of the dead was a living voice to me. - Alfred Lord Tennyson, 1847

The voices of 188 dead workers speak loudly from beyond the grave.

That grim number marks the total of workplace fatalities and accepted work-related death claims in B.C. in 2005.

It is a totally unacceptable number, a shameful number, a number that should be intolerable to us all.

Behind that number lies 188 different tragedies, 188 families where someone went to work and never came home again, 188 unsafe workplaces.

And 11 of those 188 were young people, aged 17 to 24 years old.

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On April 28th nearly 100 countries worldwide will stop to pay tribute to workers killed and injured on the job. We in the labour movement will stop to publicly renew our commitment to “fight for the living” as well as “mourn for the dead”.

In 1984 the Canadian Labour Congress Executive Council declared April 28th the annual National Day of Mourning. Since then unions, central labour bodies, Labour Councils, and governments around the world have adopted the National Day of Mourning as a day to remember workers who have been killed or injured on the job. In 1991 the Canadian Parliament passed Bill C-223, an (Act Respecting a Day of Mourning.) In 1992 the BC NDP government designated April 28th as an annual day to remember those who have suffered as a result of the hazards of work.

Continue reading ‘Why does the labour movement observe April 28th?’ at bcfed.com.

In 2005, 188 workers were killed on the job in BC including 12 young workers.

The B.C. Federation of Labour, the Vancouver & District Labour Council and the New Westminster & District Labour Council invite you to pay tribute to workers killed and injured on the job.

Friday, April 28 2006

• 7:45 am - Gather at the Vancouver Art Gallery
• 8:00 am - Procession to Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre
• 8:45 am - Day of Mourning Ceremony - VCEC - 999 Canada Place

For more information, visit the BCFL website for a listing of Day of Mourning events around the province.

All PSAC health and safety activists should be proud of their achievement over the last few years. Health and safety has been propelled to the forefront of our union’s agenda. Your hard work started with our 2003 PSAC National Convention where a record number of health and safety resolutions were debated and endorsed by the delegates.

The budget was considerably increased and included full funding for 300 delegates attending this conference.

And like the Unity Conference, the Access Conference, the Pride Conference and the National Women’s Conference, the National Health and Safety Conference now also has the right to send resolutions to the next PSAC Convention.

The theme of our 6^th National Health and Safety Conference was Health and Safety: Our Jobs, Our World.

Read the full conference report at the National Capitol Region regional website.

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.

OTTAWA – Next Tuesday, February 28, is the internationally-recognized Repetitive Strain Injury Awareness Day. On this occasion, working people are counting on the federal government to follow through with promised new regulations to prevent the scourge of workplace injuries known as RSIs (repetitive strain injuries).

One of every ten Canadian adults (more than two million people) reported RSIs serious enough to limit their normal activities, according to a Statistics Canada survey from 2000/2001. The same study found most of these injuries were caused by work-related activity.

“Canadian workers are suffering from repetitive strain injuries in epidemic proportions,” says Marie Clarke Walker, executive vice-president of the Canadian Labour Congress. “RSIs impact workers, their families and the economy. We cannot ignore such a debilitating yet preventable workplace hazard any longer,” she says.

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BC PSAC Regional Health & Safety Conference, March 11/12, 2006 (note date change), Metrotown Hilton, Burnaby

The Conference will be focusing on indoor air quality and violence in the workplace: these regional priorities were identified by the BC Caucus at the last National H&S Conference.

The Conference will be a combination of workshops, panel speakers, and planning. More details and an agenda will be available soon.

For more information phone Jack Rudd @ 604.430.5631 x 229 or 1.800.663.1655.

Online registration for the Conference is available at our old webspace or download a PSAC BC Health and Safety Conference application form and mail or fax it back. Note that if you have registered for the Conference, originally scheduled for January 2006, there is no need to re-register.

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Did you know that your perfume may be making some people sick?

There is a dramatic increase in people who are made sick by fragrances because so many products are now scented. Chemical fragrances are present in most soaps, shampoos and other hair products, cosmetics, deodorants, suntan lotion, aftershaves, colognes and lip balms to name a few. Sometimes even products marked as “unscented” are falsely labeled and actually contain toxic fragrances.

For people who are sensitive to the toxic chemicals contained in scented products, this can mean exhaustion, weakness, dizziness, headaches, rashes, muscle aches and spasms, heart palpitations, nausea, stomach cramps, vomiting, asthma attacks and loss of consciousness.

We want to create an environment where everyone can participate and enjoy PSAC education courses, conferences, meetings and other events. In order to make that happen we ask that participants refrain from using scented products during all PSAC events.

Did you know?

• Perfume today is not made from flowers but from toxic chemicals.
• More than 4,000 chemicals are used in fragrances. Of these, 95% are made from petroleum.
• No agency regulates the fragrance industry, yet perfume chemicals are as damaging to health as tobacco smoke.

Download the PSAC awareness kit on scent-free environments (chemical sensitivities / environmental illness) (pdf).