April 2008

WSIB Reviewing the Experience Rating Program
Firms without proactive health and safety programs may forfeit their rebates


On March 10, the WSIB made two announcements: one, that it is conducting a review of the Experience Rating program, and two, that effective immediately, firms responsible for a workplace fatality, will no longer be eligible for a WSIB rebate for that calendar year.

The Experience Rating program is a cost-based incentive program designed to promote good health and safety practices, early and safe return to work, and appropriate disability management practices. Employers receive rebates or surcharges according to their performance based on claims costs.

Under certain circumstances a company could have experienced a workplace fatality and received a rebate in the same year. "I didn't realize that we were paying out those kinds of bonuses to companies that are breaking the law," said WSIB chair Steve Mahoney, as reported in the Toronto Star on April 7, "and when I saw that, I said 'This is nonsense.' There has to be accountability." That gap is now closed.

As for the Experience Rating program, the review is intended to align the program with the WSIB Road to Zero. Here's what you need to know:

•	The Experience Rating program currently awards rebates to firms who reduce their overall costs to less than projected.
•	However, reduced costs do not necessarily mean a firm has an effective health and safety program in place.
•	VRP applies to new employer registrations only.
•	The changes to the program are likely to affect the minority of firms that hide claims, bring people back to work on modified duties to improve their experience, and fail to promote proactive health and safety initiatives.
•	The WSIB has indicated that the revised program will require firms to demonstrate that their health and safety program is meeting the grade before they're eligible to receive rebates.

Recommendations and decisions resulting from the review are expected in March 2009. The Advocate will monitor and report on any updates.

Ontario Bill 29 Receives First Reading
Protects workers from harassment and violence


Canada ranks fourth in the world for workplace aggression, with certain factors common to the service sector—working with the public, providing services, serving alcohol, or working alone—putting people at increased risk. Proposed legislation in the form of Ontario Bill 29 would require employers to take additional steps to protect workers from harassment and violence in the workplace.

The new bill would protect workers from harassment and violence in the workplace whether perpetrated by employees, clients or other individuals the employer might serve. According to the Business Insurance web site, it would require employers to:

•	Develop and deliver regular harassment and violence prevention training to employees (including those who exercise managerial functions), and mandate employee attendance at training sessions;
•	Investigate allegations of workplace harassment or violence;
•	Identify the source of harassment or violence and remove the source if necessary;
•	Ensure adequate steps are taken to prevent and remedy the effects of the harassment or violence;
•	Compensate victimized workers for any absences related to the harassment or violence that are not compensated through the workers compensation system.

Violence in the workplace is a burning issue for Minister of Labour Brad Duguid, and it is expected that we will see further focus on this topic later in 2008. Keep an eye on "Popular Topics" at the bottom right section of the MOL web site for updates.

More information:

•	OSSA offers a Working Alone Awareness module-—a 2.5-hour interactive awareness session that helps participants recognize potential working alone hazards, assess the risks and prioritize violence hazards. Call Client Services to book a session: 1-888-478-6772:
•	Check out OSSA's resource guide, Certification Part II Violence Hazards.
•	See OSSA article: "A Volatile Mix: Young Workers & Workplace Violence—How a ‘no surprises' approach can strengthen your safety program."
•	The WSIB web site posts summaries on who's at risk, and a five-step checklist on how to prevent violence.
•	The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) has posted extensive Q&As, checklists, examples, and guidelines.
•	Google "Working Alone Safely" to find Alberta's best practices document on this important risk factor.

The Answer is "Yes"
OSSA to expand safety groups in 2009


Service sector firms interested in joining one of OSSA's service sector safety groups for the tremendous benefits it offers, will be pleased to know that recruitment begins this summer for new safety groups to be launched in 2009 when OSSA expands its offerings across the province. Foodservices—based on initial interest from the business community—might be first in line for lift-off.

OSSA's inaugural Safety Group has attracted 38 companies representing 66 auto dealerships and hotels—surpassing the goal for these two groups, and reflecting positively on the participating firms and their commitment to improve the management of their health safety in their workplaces.

Safety Group members understand that health and safety is not a competition, and that by sharing their leading health and safety best practices, pooling resources, and improving their health and safety system, they can:

•	Focus more of their attention on growing their business;
•	Earn collective financial rebates from the WSIB (an average of 3.2 per cent of their annual WISB premiums in 2006);.
•	See a reduction of over 20 per cent in their injury frequency;
•	Decrease their premiums paid.

If you have questions about joining an OSSA Safety Group, contact John Aird at (905) 614-3001.

Big Boost for Prevention of Sprains and Strains
MOL unveils its prevention toolbox


Half of all working days lost due to injury are a result of workplace pains and strains, creating huge financial costs for employers and serious and disabling injuries for workers. Firms that wage a daily war against workplace-related musculoskeletal disorders now have a wealth of free knowledge and tools available to evaluate and respond to these issues.

In February, the Occupational Health and Safety Council of Ontario and the Centre of Research Expertise for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders (CRE-MSD) launched the MSD Prevention Toolbox, containing information sheets, sample surveys, hazard identification tools and control strategies.

The toolbox is the third and final component of the MSD Prevention Series—a program aimed at helping Ontario employers and employees reduce the number of MSDs in their workplaces. The series also includes: The MSD Prevention Guideline for Ontario and the Resource Manual for the MSD Prevention Guideline for Ontario.

The MSD Prevention Series has been developed for use by workers, employers, joint health and safety committee members, health and safety representatives, unions and associations.

In support of the MSD initiative, OSSA has developed two new Safe Lifting Training Programs – one for employees and one for supervisors.

•	Employee session: includes information on safe lifting guidelines, reviews five lifting techniques and provides interactive hands-on practice.
•	Supervisor session: provides supervisors with additional information that equips them to apply the knowledge back in the workplace through regular reinforcement of the safe lifting guidelines and techniques, conducting safety talks and tools for use in the workplace such as checklists, posters and a video.

If you would like help addressing MSDs in your workplace:

•	Call the Client Services line at 1-888-478-6772 to book a Safe Lifting Training session, or ask for more information;
•	Visit the OSSA web site and download the MSD Prevention Series, articles and other resources.

Man of Action
Tom Beegan in Conversation with the OSSA Board of Directors


Tom Beegan was appointed Chief Prevention Officer of the Workplace Safety & Insurance Board (WSIB) on February 1, 2007. He previously served for five years as Chief Executive of the Health and Safety Authority in Ireland, during which time he developed and instituted the most modern occupational safety and health legislation in Europe; implemented a smoking ban in all workplaces; and integrated occupational health and safety into the national education curriculum.

On February 12, 2008, Tom joined the OSSA Board of Directors to share his view of the issues driving Ontario's new Prevention Strategy, part of the WSIB's Five Year Strategic Plan 2008-2012, called the "Road to Zero."

The strategy will affect us all. Find out more about what's behind it and the man who's shaping it.

What Ontario has that lured Tom from Ireland
Ontario and the WSIB had indicated that this province could have the healthiest and safest workplaces in the world. Nobody else had the guts to say that. I've sat at the table with our prevention partners, business and labour, and the one thing everyone agrees on is that we must and can achieve this. This is a province of articulate, educated people, which in many respects defines a Canadian. It's about believing in what's right: a quality that is recognized around the world. We also have some of the best modern technology, research and innovation in Ontario. To me, an obvious extension of all this is to hear people say that we can and will have the healthiest and safest workplaces in the world.

The numbers: the good and the ugly
When we look at the approximately 230,000 firms that are insured with the WSIB in any one year, there's an interesting statistic: 80 per cent of them had no health and safety-related incidents in 2006. And a number of sectors have no fatalities. So some people are doing it right. Yet clearly we're not doing enough. The fact that in 2007 over 100 people lost their lives, that another 230 people died from occupational-related disease, that every day we received about 1,400 claims from people have been injured on the job, and that tragically more than 17 people have died already this year from workplace-related incidents in Ontario…it's not good. It challenges our very fibre.

The fabric of a human being
We continue to see stubborn resistance to change on things like musculoskeletal disorders. We continue to see falls and injuries related to contact with machinery. Contact with machinery has been an issue since the industrial revolution and we still haven't licked it, yet we can put people on the moon. So for me, when we talk about measuring our performance, in many respects we're trying to measure the fabric of the human being—the principle that people will fight for: their determination not to do something because it might injure someone else or themselves.

Hazards that can't be seen
The knowledge economy is moving us toward video screens, keyboards, repetitive strain. We're also moving toward hazards that can't be seen, such as dangerous chemicals where the odour has been removed, and such as stress, bullying, harassment. How should we deal with these? As long as we have the human race, these issues will be with us. But they are there to be solved, and they can be solved. And people are solving them.

Through the lens of vulnerable workers
In all of what we do, we need to see through two lenses. One is the employer. The other is the vulnerable worker—the fellow who's lost his job and goes into construction. He's not as good as he thought he was, physically, but this is where he can get work and he needs an income. It could be the person from another country who may not have English as a first language. Or the woman working for a temp agency who will damage her back tomorrow because she's been asked to move something heavy and doesn't feel she can say anything: she needs the money and there are ten more ready to take her place.

The world of small business
In the service sector, we have probably the higher proportion of micro-enterprises and small businesses. When we talk to them about internal responsibility systems, health and safety management systems, risk assessments, control measures, data sheets, WHMIS… they haven't got the time and it doesn't resonate in their world. The WSIB has got to position itself—and we're moving in that direction—as a business partner. You can be both profitable and safe: they are linked. We need to be able to communicate in ten seconds how health and safety is relevant. Then we have to coordinate and integrate our products and services so we're easier to do business with.

The road to collaboration
I will be meeting with the other boards [of Ontario health and safety associations] to look at presenting opportunities. At the end of the day, it can only be by collaboration, understanding and challenging one another that we will meet the hard targets we've set: 35 per cent reduction in lost-time incidents over the next five years. I hope we exceed that; I believe we will. We're clear about where we want to go. We might argue a little bit about what's the best way to get there, but it's beneficial to have these types of conversations. I view my relationship with OSSA and the other health and safety associations as a genuine partnership.