Tell your supervisor. In Saskatchewan, The Saskatchewan Employment Act states that it is the primary duty of the employer to provide workers with a safe workplace. Your supervisor is the first link in a chain that goes to the top, so they need to be told about the hazards and dangers you discover in the workplace. An important note: no job is worth dying over. All workers have the legal right to refuse to perform a task they feel will cause harm to themselves or others. If you feel the task is too dangerous, tell your supervisor that “you are refusing to do the task because you feel it is too dangerous.” This is under s. 3-16 of The Saskatchewan Employment Act. This will set into motion a series of steps that will lead to the hazard being removed, or an investigation with your local health and safety representative or a committee member.
Make sure your co-workers, your union health and safety committee, and your local executive know about the hazard. It is the law that your employer must tell all employees about the hazards of the workplace, however, not all do. To help protect each other, tell co-workers, especially those who will be potentially exposed to the hazard.
Make sure your joint health and safety committee knows about the problem. All hazards should be reported to members of your Occupational Health and Safety committee, but this is a particularly important step if your supervisor does not take action to fix the hazard. A well-functioning committee will address problems brought to its agenda, as well as conduct regular health and safety inspections to make sure that working conditions are safe. For more information on health and safety committees check outhttp://cupe.ca/health-and-safety.
Make sure your joint health and safety committee knows about the problem. All hazards should be reported to members of your occupational health and safety committee, but this is a particularly important step if your supervisor does not take action to fix the hazard. A well-functioning committee will address problems brought to its agenda, as well as conduct regular health and safety inspections to make sure that working conditions are safe. For more information on health and safety committees check out http://cupe.ca/health-and-safety.
Contact your CUPE representative. All CUPE locals have access to a national representative. If you have a health and safety issue that you cannot get rectified, contact the national representative assigned to your local, who can help or refer you to the proper person for assistance.
While you should start by contacting your staff rep, you can also contact the Saskatchewan health and safety representative if you have any health and safety-related questions, so that they may contact your national representative to follow up.
