On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Many workers in the province of Ontario were deemed “essential” and required to continue working to provide health care, preserve life, and keep society functioning. Several workers were exposed and became sick – some died – because employers failed to understand and implement effective control measures to prevent transmission of the virus. Eventually and gradually, workers working from home or laid of due to a shortage of work, will return to their workplaces. The transition may take an extended period of time. The virus will not just miraculously disappear. Research indicates COVID-19 will continue circulating for months or even years. Effective COVID-19 control plans, which might need to remain in place for months or years, must be developed and implemented to protect workers. Employers are responsible for the health and safety of workers. The Occupational Health and Safety Act sets out duties of employers and requires them to identify hazards and implement controls to protect workers. The Act also gives joint health and safety committee’s rights, powers and functions including identifying situations that may be hazardous and making recommendations for the improvement of the heath and safety of workers. This program provides the information needed about COVID-19 to develop and implement an effective COVID-19 control plan that will protect workers. In this module, topics covered include: the hazardous characteristics of COVID-19 including routes of transmission, how it infects and kills and its ability to spread health effects of COVID-19 and the progression of symptoms applicable legislation including the Occupational Health and Safety Act and regulations, as well as public health laws and directives workplace controls that can prevent transmission of the virus such as physical distancing, workplace cleaning and disinfecting, personal protective equipment and hand hygiene, and information, instruction and training that must be provided.

We are now at the point where many businesses and organizations are considering (or have begun) returning to the workplace and regular operations. However, it is definitely not the same world. Many changes have to be made in how we interact with each other, navigate space, and conduct business. As we make those changes to procedures, tools, workstations, and the environment, individuals will be impacted, sometimes negatively. It is good to remind ourselves of important Ergonomic concepts and reflect on how they might apply to the "new normal" in order to avoid aches, pain, stress, injury, and especially time loss.

Many of us have been working at home at temporary workstations for an extended period of time; potentially 7 months or longer. How have you been coping? Have you made a transition to an ergonomically sound workstation or are you still working from a laptop at your kitchen table? Are you now starting to develop some musculoskeletal discomfort? There are some small changes you can make to transform your workstation into a more ergonomically sound temporary office if you find yourself continuing to work from home as time continues.

a) Preventing COVID-19: What JHSCs can do

Workers’ participation in identifying and resolving workplace health and safety issues is critical especially during the current pandemic, but it’s also required by law. Worker participation is often best exercised collectively and through worker representatives. The law provides for this too. Most Ontario workplaces require either a joint health and safety committee (JHSC) or a worker health and safety representative (HSR). Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act also sets out extensive rights and duties for JHSCs (s9) and HSRs (s8) including conducting inspections, being informed of any testing, receiving copies of health and safety reports including reports of occupational illnesses such as COVID-19, being present at any work refusal and accompanying MOL during inspections to name just a few. This workshop will assist workplace representatives understand and more effectively use their rights and duties in preventing COVID-19 outbreaks.

b) Conducting an effective COVID-19 workplace inspection

Joint health and safety committees (JHSCs) and worker health and safety representatives have both a right and responsibility to participate in the pursuit of safer, healthier workplaces. Included in their roles is a requirement for JHSCs or worker health and safety reps to inspect the workplace at least once a month.  Given the evolving nature of this pandemic, what we know about the virus and its transmission, and concerns for future waves of infection, it may be prudent to conduct even more frequent workplace inspections. As many more workplaces prepare to reopen, conducting a thorough inspection prior to workers re-entering the workplace is reasonable too.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted many workplace routines, but never have routine health and safety inspections been more important or required greater diligence. This workshop will provide necessary for committee members and representatives resources, tools and information to achieve an effective workplace inspection.

a) COVID-19: Lessons from long-term care

The trauma associated with the monumental tragedy that is playing out in several long-term care facilities across Canada during the COVID-19 crisis will be felt years to come.
 
Here in Ontario a number of facilities failed to follow public health directives and reasonable precautions. The result has been a death rate far exceeding the experience of others. Many are calling for sweeping change into how these homes for seniors and other vulnerable adults are staffed and managed. Others are calling for independent inquiries and criminal investigations. Some of these important measures may take years to implement.
 
People’s lives are in danger now. What has been done to date to stop the unacceptable loss of life? What more can be done immediately in long-term care facilities? What can other workers and workplace representatives in businesses deemed essential during the COVID-19 crisis learn from this tragedy? And as Ontario prepares to open workplaces in a world that is still working on a COVID-19 vaccine, what must be in place to help ensure others don’t suffer a similar fate.

b) Use of Masks and Respirators

As understanding of COVID-19 transmission routes has evolved, the role masks play in disease prevention has also evolved, particularly in non-medical settings. With research confirming the airborne transmission of COVID-19, especially in crowded, closed indoor environments with poor ventilation, approaches have shifted. Bylaws and policies for mandatory mask wearing now exist for many indoor public spaces.

As such, though masks are not a replacement for social distancing, hand hygiene, cleaning and disinfecting and proper ventilation, they are now an essential part of many workplace COVID-19 prevention programs, regardless of industry or sector. However, not all masks are equally protective.

This workshop will explore the selection, safe use, care and limitations of a range of respirators and masks. Special attention will be paid to the critical role for N95 respirators in care settings, where workers are attending to those with suspected, presumed or confirmed cases of COVID-19 (and those who clean and disinfect in these same settings). Also up for discussion will be the ongoing safety issue faced by workers in many sectors, who after exhausting all other protection measures, still need access to respiratory protection.

For injured workers returning to regular or modified duties, the process can be overwhelming and confusing, often dealing with employer human resource departments and WSIB Return to Work Specialists, who don’t always give complimentary direction. Add to this the problems associated with COVID-19, where new health and safety rules and work conditions complicate how employers are able to accommodate injured workers. This workshop will aim to familiarize participants with basic concepts of return to work, including worker and employer rights and obligations, how human rights obligations interact with workers compensation ones, how a permanent impairment may impact ongoing accommodations, and provide the tools to better represent members navigate returning to work.