Manitoba is spending $2 million to protect nurses, doctors, technologists, health-care aides and other health-care staff from workplace violence and is rolling out a new provincial violence prevention policy for all health facilities.

A registered nurse and a former security officer have teamed up to develop a new occupational health and safety program for the Saskatoon Health Region (SHR) that aims to educate workers on preventing workplace violence.

Mental stress, workplace violence and workplace harassment are the biggest health and safety issues affecting Ontario’s 76,000 elementary teachers and educational professionals, according to a survey conducted for the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO).

Changes to the Workplace Safety and Health Regulation will introduce new requirements to protect workers from psychological harassment in the workplace, Labour and Immigration Minister Jennifer Howard announced this week.

Organizations across Ontario by now should have put in place plans and programs to eliminate or control the risk of violence in their workplace. Since June 15, 2010, Bill 168, a new legislation amending the Occupational Health and Safety Act to add workplace violence-related provisions, is in effect.

Few Ontario workplaces will have complied with new workplace violence and harassment legislation as it comes into force this week, employment lawyers say.

 

Bill 168, which amended the Occupational Health and Safety Act, received Royal assent in December. It gave employers six months to comply, but many have left it until too late.

It has been almost six months since Royal Assent was given to the Bill 168 amendments, instituting workplace violence and harassment provisions to the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). We are now rapidly approaching June 15, 2010, the date set for the workplace violence amendments to come into force, and thus the date set for all Ontario employers to be in compliance with the new Ontario OHSA workplace violence and harassment provisions contained in Bill 168. 

Partners in Prevention 2010, Ontario’s newest health and safety tradeshow and conference, kicked off May 4th with the Ministry of Labour announcing the availability of the workplace violence toolbox to help organizations comply with Bill 168, new legislation amending the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) to add workplace violence-specific requirements.

Crown attorneys in Nova Scotia want the province’s Department of Labour and Workforce Development to investigate security and safety issues at the Halifax and Dartmouth courthouses, citing incidents of violence against Crown attorneys, workers and others inside these buildings.

With four months to go before the new workplace violence legislation takes effect in Ontario, are you ready to comply with the new requirements?

Bill 168, which amends the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), received Royal Assent on December 15, 2009 and comes into force on June 15, 2010. These amendments apply to Ontario employers and workers, including the Crown.