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'Tis the Season for Temporary Workers

While the work may be temporary, the rights of these workers are not.

By Peter Wilton

There is nothing temporary about temporary employment. It is estimated that there are 500 temporary placement agencies located in To­ronto alone. Temporary, part-time and contract jobs, account for the jobs of one in three Canadi­ans. While the work may be temporary, the rights of these workers are not. They are governed under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, specifically sections 25-28, just as their permanent colleagues are. There has been some confusion in the past with where the responsibility lies for ensuring that these rights on paper are put into practice.

Jackie Supper is the Health and Safety Manager with two temporary employment agencies: The Staffing Edge and Pin Point Career. In this capacity, she has been working with organizations such as the Ontario Service Safety Alliance (OSSA) and the Ministry of Labour (MOL) to write effective best practice guidelines. These guide­lines help to ensure that the rights and responsibilities in terms of health and safety in the workplace for “vulner­able workers” (tempo­rary, part-time and contract workers) is in place, in practice, and a priority. “Twenty years ago, employment agencies and their clients tried to dodge the issue of health and safety, each claiming that it was the other’s responsibility. This has changed. Today, the majority of agencies and their clients make health and safety a priority,” says Supper.

So who is responsible for the health and safety training of temporary workers? Well, the quick answer is everybody: the agency (employer), the workplace where the employee is placed (client) and the worker (associate). In terms of the agencies, their responsibility is two-fold.

First, the agency should conduct site inspections and informal visits to confirm that their clients are making health and safety a priority. Secondly, the agency must ensure that they train associates on the health and safety act, including the right to refuse work that they perceive as dangerous, without fear of reprisal.

The client (workplace) shoulders the responsibility for the onsite health and safety training, and the associates (worker being placed) should understand their rights under the health and safety act. They should participate in health and safety training, use the safety equipment provided, and report any health and safety concerns to their supervisor, as well the agency.

If an associate reports an unsafe work environment, the employer should contact the client immediately. If it is not resolved right away, the associate should be pulled from that workplace. The agency can refer the client to the OSSA for assistance in creating a healthier and safer workplace. If the client refuses to consider changes, they should be dropped as a client and reported to the Ministry of Labour.

Sectors that typically experience a boost in hiring during the holiday season are the retail and restaurant sectors. These sectors often boost their ranks by hiring students, using agencies and part-time workers. It is once again the responsibility of the employer to ensure that health and safety training is a priority. Every year, thousands of young workers between the ages of 16 to 24 are injured on the job, and each year, young people die on the job. It is the responsibility of these employers to ensure that workers have:

 

• The right to know about the hazards in the workplace and what precautions must be taken to prevent injuries from these hazards;
• The right to participate in safety and health activities in the workplace without fear of any form of discriminatory action such as discipline;
• The right to refuse work that one reasonably believes can be dangerous to oneself or others.

 

There is nothing temporary or transient about Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act. The Ontario Service Safety Alliance offers a wide range of services and products to help you and your employ­ees—be they permanent, temporary or part-time—to have a healthy and safe holiday season and new year.

With the holiday season upon us, this is a good opportunity for employers to take a look at their train­ing procedures and policies. Here is a list of those who will likely need health and safety training:

• New employees
• Co-op students
• Returning employees who have been away from work
• Contractors
• Temporary workers
• Any employee being asked to work with a new piece of equipment or engage in a new work process, or has recently been promoted or transferred to a new department.

(Source: WHSS News Volume 4 issue 16 —www.whss.ca/newsletter/016)

 

Excerpted from Safety Mosaic, Volume 9, No. 4, Winter 2006

 

 

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