Saskatchewan Labour promotes safe, fair and cooperative workplaces. The Department’s Prevention Services Branch is focusing on the education of future or new labour force entrants. Young or new workers are more likely than other workers to experience injuries, unfair labour practices or other negative incidents. There is a need to ensure that a person’s first work experiences are safe and fair.

There have been a number of important changes to workplace legislation in recent years, including The Occupational Health and Safety Act and Regulations and the Labour Standards Act and Regulations. It is important that teachers and students have up-to-date information and skills before entering the workplace, whether it be a WBL work placement, or a part-time or full-time employment situation.

In Fall 1998, Saskatchewan Education partnered with Saskatchewan Labour to integrate safe and fair workplace practices into the PAA curriculum to enhance the learning context for presentations from workplace representatives and to identify and develop new resources.

Saskatchewan Labour is one of the provincial agencies that is involved in setting standards for safe, fair and cooperative workplace practices. The Department administers three pieces of legislation that govern workplace practices: The Occupational Health and Safety Act, The Labour Standards Act, and the Trade Union Act.

The Occupational Health and Safety Act and Regulations set minimum standards for health and safety in the workplace. This includes physical safety as well as protection from harassment and violence. All workers under provincial jurisdiction are covered by the Act – there are no exceptions. Under the Act, everyone in the workplace has a role to play in maintaining healthy and safe workplaces.

Employers, contractors, suppliers, and owners are required by law to protect the health and safety of workers. This expectation applies to work placement students as well as paid employees. For example, the requirement for employers to provide training and orientation for workers regarding potential hazards in the workplace applies to all workers, including work placement students.

Employers are responsible for knowing and following the regulations related to their business or industry. Employers are also required to:

• develop and implement a harassment policy in their workplaces
• provide adequate training for all new workers and for existing workers who are assigned new tasks or are moved to a different worksite
• ensure close and competent supervision is provided until the worker has sufficient experience to perform the work safely
• put first aid, Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS), and emergency procedures in place
• provide a copy of the Occupational Health and Safety Act and Regulations for workers’ reference
• establish procedures for reporting accidents
• hire according to age restrictions
• have a written health and safety program
• develop and implement a violence policy.

Workers have a responsibility to work and act safely on the job. They are expected to:

• take reasonable care for their health and safety and the health and safety of others who may be affected by their acts or omissions
• follow safe work procedures in the workplace
• participate in training provided by the employer
• use equipment in a proper manner
• wear and maintain any required safety gear (personal protective equipment)
• report any unsafe equipment or other safety hazards
• cooperate with the employer, occupational health committee or occupational health and safety representative.

Workers also have three basic rights that are protected by the legislation:

• the right to know about workplace hazards and how to deal with them
• the right to participate in health and safety activities in the workplace as a member of an Occupational Health Committee (in workplaces with 10 or more employees), as a safety representative (in higher-risk workplaces with 5 to 9 employees), or directly with the employer (where neither a committee nor a representative is required)
• the right to refuse work they believe to be unusually dangerous to themselves or others in the workplace.

The Labour Standards Act sets basic standards for working conditions in Saskatchewan in areas such as hours of work, wages, termination and holiday pay. This Act is particularly significant for young people as it defines the conditions under which many of them will begin their work lives. Union contracts and professional association agreements often build upon the minimum standards and rights provided to workers in the Act.

The Act applies to all Saskatchewan employers and workers except farm workers, casual babysitters and employees working in federally regulated industries.

Except for the section on Pro-Rated Benefits, the Act is applied equally to all workers, including part-time, full-time, temporary, seasonal or permanent workers. There are, however, some partial exemptions. For example, managers are exempt from overtime provisions. Teachers are exempt from the sections on annual and public holidays and hours of work.

Saskatchewan workers have the right to receive:

The Trade Union Act sets out the rights and responsibilities of workers and employers in organizing unions, bargaining collectively, and resolving union-management disputes.

All workers have the right to join a union. A union, chosen by a majority of workers, becomes the exclusive bargaining agent for the group. When a bargaining unit has been certified, the union may request the employer to deduct dues from wages and submit them to the union.

An employer must not:

• interfere with attempts to organize a union
• refuse to bargain with a certified union
• discriminate on the basis of union activity
• threaten to move or shut down during a dispute
• change rates of pay or conditions of work without negotiating with the union.

An employee or union must not:

• attempt to force a worker into union activity
• refuse to bargain collectively with an employer
• strike without the majority of the bargaining unit supporting the work stoppage
• interfere with a worker seeking support for decertification of a bargaining unit.

To assist young people in gaining practical knowledge and skills, Saskatchewan Labour has developed a number of resources for use in high schools. A variety of formats is available including brochures, fact sheets, videos, the internet and teaching modules.

The resources help young workers:

• understand their rights and responsibilities as potential workers, employers and/or supervisors
• develop skills in exercising both rights and responsibilities
• identify key questions, and how to ask them, to help make their workplace experiences safe, fair and co-operative
• know how to access information and agencies that can help them with workplace issues.

The five teaching modules that address students’ transition-to-work needs include:

In addition, one-hour presentations on occupational health and safety and labour standards are available in partnership with other organizations.

All employers have responsibilities for ensuring the health, safety and welfare of the employees in their workplaces. Employers must provide training to new workers about the safety policies, safe work procedures and hazards specific to that workplace. The following topics need to be included in the orientation:

• Information about any hazards in the workplace and the procedures developed to address the hazard (may include policies about harassment and violence, as well as protection from physical, chemical or biological hazards);

• Use of the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) to identify hazardous materials in the workplace and the precautions to be taken when working with the materials;

• Location of First Aid supplies and/or facilities;

• Procedures in the event of fire or other emergencies;

• Identification of prohibited or restricted areas;

• Procedures for reporting hazards and accidents.

An employer or contractor shall ensure that no person under the age of 16 years is employed or permitted to work:

• on a construction site;
• in a production process at a pulp mill, sawmill, or woodworking establishment;
• in a production process at a smelter, foundry, refinery or metal processing or fabricating operation;
• in a confined space;
• in a production process in a meat, fish, or poultry processing establishment;
• in a forestry or logging operation;
• on a drilling or servicing rig;
• as an operator of powered mobile equipment, a crane, or a hoist;
• where exposure to a chemical or biological substance is likely to endanger the health or safety of the person; or
• in power line construction or maintenance.

An employer or contractor shall ensure that no person under the age of 18 years is employed:

• underground or in an open pit at a mine;
• as a radiation worker;
• in an asbestos process;
• in a silica process; or
• in any activity which requires the use of an atmosphere-supplying respirator.

(The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 1996; Sections 14(1) and 14(2))

Although it is recommended that all workplaces have a written health and safety program, only employers in moderate to high-hazard industries with ten or more workers are required to implement a health and safety program. Those industries include:

• hospitals, nursing homes, home care, metal foundries and mills; and workplaces at which the following types of work are performed:

(The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 1996; Section 22 and Table 7)

Places of employment that provide the following services or activities are required to have a violence policy statement:

(The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 1996; Section 37)