Amendments to fall protection legislation will improve safety for those working at heights

On January 1, 2011 amendments to fall protection legislation under General Regulation 91-191 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act will come into effect. The amendments will improve the protection of employees working at heights, and are the result of several years of research, analysis, consultation and evaluation by WorkSafeNB and industry stakeholders. Click  here to read more.  

 

Sharon Tucker appointed as new chair

WorkSafeNB is pleased to welcome its new chairperson, Sharon Tucker, to its board of directors. Tucker was appointed on November 19, and previously served on the board from February 2007 - February 2010 as a worker representative. She is a health care professional with 20 years of management experience in nursing, and is the facility administrator of the Charlotte County Hospital in St. Stephen, a position she’s held since July 2009. Before taking on that role she spent 18 years as a nurse manager at the Saint John Regional Hospital. Click  here to read more.  

 

Stay Safe and Sound This Holiday Season

On top of all of the usual hustle and bustle of the festive holiday season, in Canada the season also ushers in cold snowy winter. Here are some tips to help you and your family stay healthy and safe as you enjoy the festivities of the holiday season. Click  here to read more. 
 

Operation Red Nose

WorkSafeNB wishes everyone a happy and safe holiday season and reminds you that Operation Red Nose (ORN) offers partygoers and their cars a free, safe ride home. ORN is a free, designated driver service that gets drivers who may be unfit to drive, and their passengers, to their destinations safely – in their own cars – during the holiday season. Motorists who call ORN are picked up by a team of three volunteers and an escort vehicle, and driven in their own vehicles to the destinations of their choice. The escort vehicle tags along and, at the end of the trip, drives the team to pick up other clients or back to the local headquarters. Fuel costs are covered through sponsorship (in New Brunswick, the Insurance Bureau of Canada) and donations. Click  here to read more.

 

In the Courts

On November 15, 2010, Donald Lavoie
pleaded guilty for failing to provide the required protective equipment for employees working from heights. He was fined $500.

Lavoie was charged as a supervisor, when an employee of a roofing crew he had been supervising was found working approximately 8 metres above the nearest safe level without fall-protection equipment.

Lavoie’s son, Donald Lavoie Jr., was charged as the employee in the same incident. Lavoie Jr. was charged with failing to use the required protective equipment for employees working from heights. He pleaded guilty and was fined $300.


Northern Harvest Sea Farms Inc. pleaded guilty on December 3 to four counts under the Occupational Health and Safety Act relating to an accident that occurred October 2, 2009 near Penn Island in Charlotte County. At the time of the accident, a crew including Burton Large, was working from a barge inspecting buoys at a salmon farm cage site. While pulling one buoy onto the barge for inspection, the wire rope failed and caused the buoy to fall to the deck, striking Large and causing fatal injuries. WorkSafeNB investigated and, as a result, six charges were laid against the employer for offences related to the crane and wire rope on the barge. Two of those charges were withdrawn. Northern Harvest Sea Farms Inc. was fined $4,000 on three counts and $3,000 on the remaining count for a total fine of $15,000.

Ask Us

Q: My office environment has not been cleaned in quite some time. Is my employer responsible for this or should I bring my own cleaning products to work?

 

Jean Smith*
ABC Company Limited*
Fredericton, NB

*Names have been changed for privacy purposes

A: In some cases your employer is responsible for cleaning the office environment, but in some cases, we, as employees, are also responsible to look after our workspaces.

The Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act says that employers must take every reasonable precaution to ensure the health and safety of employees. This would include general cleanliness. There is also a section in the General Regulation under the OHS Act that requires the employer to keep the place of employment in a “clean and sanitary condition."  More 

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About WorkSafeNB E-News
WorkSafeNB E-News is a monthly publication designed to bridge the gap between WorkSafeNB's website and Contact, our print-edition newsletter, which is published twice a year.

WorkSafeNB E-News provides you with timely access to the kind of health and safety news you need to protect your workers, your co-workers and yourself.        

Des modifications législatives amélioreront la sécurité des personnes qui travaillent à partir de hauteurs 

Le 1^er janvier 2011, des modifications apportées au Règlement général 91-191 établi en vertu de la Loi sur l’hygiène et la sécurité au travail entreront en vigueur. Ces modifications amélioreront la protection des employés qui travaillent à partir de hauteurs et sont le résultat de plusieurs années de recherches, d’analyses, de consultations et d’évaluations effectuées par Travail sécuritaire NB et des intervenants de l’industrie.  Cliquez ici pour lire la suite de l’article. 

 

Sharon Tucker, présidente du conseil d’administration 

Travail sécuritaire NB est heureux d’accueillir la nouvelle présidente de son conseil d’administration, Sharon Tucker, qui a été nommée le 19 novembre. M^me Tucker avait siégé au conseil à titre de représentante des travailleurs de février 2007 à février 2010. Elle est une professionnelle de la santé qui a 20 années d’expérience de gestion en soins infirmiers. M^me Tucker est administratrice d’établissement du Charlotte County Hospital à St. Stephen, soit un poste qu’elle occupe depuis le mois de juillet 2009. Avant d’occuper son poste actuel, elle a travaillé comme infirmière-chef à l’Hôpital régional de Saint John pendant 18 ans.  Cliquez ici pour lire la suite de l’article.

 

Soyez en sécurité pendant les Fêtes  

En plus du tourbillon d’activités que la période des Fêtes entraîne, elle signifie aussi, au Canada, l’arrivée du froid mordant et de la neige. Voici donc quelques conseils pour vous aider à préserver votre santé et votre sécurité, ainsi que celles de votre famille, et à profiter pleinement de cette période de réjouissance.  Cliquez ici pour lire la suite de l’article.