OH&S

Dealing with Occupational Health and Safety Issues/Concerns

Employees have the right to raise concerns regarding health and safety matters in their workplace. The employer is legally responsible for providing Employees with a safe and healthy workplace. The workplace is defined as any place where Employees perform work as directed by the Employer.

The AHS/UNA Collective Agreement sets out a specific process for dealing with OH&S issues/concerns. Article 34: Occupational Health and Safety requires that there be an Occupational Health and Safety Committee with representatives of the Union (Local 196) and the Employer (Alberta Health Services). This committee meets monthly, and Local 196 OH&S Committee representatives are elected at the Local Annual General Meeting.

The Local 196 OH&S Committee chair is currently:

Sandi Johnson: email: sjohnson@una.ca

Process for dealing with OH&S Issues/Concerns: Complete a MySafetyNet and an OH&S report

When reporting an incident, please follow these steps:

1. Complete and submit a MySafetyNet (MSN) report on the AHS Insite homepage

2. Send a copy of your MSN report to the Local Executive email, local196exec@una.ca. After you submit your My Safety Net Report, you will be sent a confirmation email. This email contains the link to your report. Open the link and copy and paste your MSN into an email or a Word document so the local executive can view the report. Don’t delete this confirmation email!

3. Complete a UNA OH&S report– UNA Home page under Resources una.ca

4. Please email your manager to request a copy of the completed corrective action report for your MSN, including the MSN incident number.

5. Submit a WCB worker claim for all work-related injuries-physical or psychological, even if there is no lost time at the moment you are submitting.

Contact the Local if anyone from Management or HR contacts you about a meeting to discuss your MSN. We will happily accompany you to any such meeting.

By following the steps above, the Local and the OH&S committee members, in particular, are more likely to be able to respond to you in a timely manner.

What happens with these reports?

After you fill out the UNA OH&S report, the Local 196 OH&S Committee assigns your concern to a committee member who sits on the Joint Work Health and Safety Committee (JWHSC) for your site.
It is important that you include a personal email and phone number. The assigned OH&S committee member will reach out to you by email or phone and ask you for a copy of your My Safety Net Report (if you haven’t submitted it already). They will also remind you to request a corrective action report.
Please notify your manager that you have submitted a concern.

RESOURCES:

UNA Workplace_Violence_and_Harassment_Manual

Government of Alberta OH&S Documents:

Alberta OH&S Act – Highlights of Changes Effective June 1, 2018

Health and Safety Representatives

Joint Worksite Health and Safety Committee

Do I need a joint worksite Health and Safety Committee

Worker Participation in Health and Safety

Office Ergonomic Assessments

WCB Documents:

How to complete a worker WCB claim for psychological injury

WCB – Psychological Injuries