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480 University Avenue, Suite 1000, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1V2

Telephone: 416-962-3836 Toll-free: 1-888-838-3836
Fax: 416-642-2424
Website: www.etfo.ca



REPORT TO THE 2008 ANNUAL MEETING OF THE
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY COMMITTEE


Terms of Reference

To advise and make recommendations to the Executive on health and safety
issues.
To make recommendations to the Executive to raise member awareness of health
and safety issues in schools.
To promote member participation in health and safety training.
To provide assistance to the health and safety representatives who sit on joint
occupational health and safety committees.

Committee Members

Ken Gee Limestone Occasional Teacher Local, Chairperson
Lesly Kapush Lakehead Teacher Local
Marianne Samuel Elementary Teachers of Toronto Local
Colin Wackett York Region Teacher Local
Valence Young Renfrew County Teacher Local
Susan Ansara Staff Liaison

Committee Activities for 2007-2008

The ETFO Occupational Health and Safety Committee met twice at the provincial office
on December 7, 2007, and on February 29 and March 1, 2008.

For the 2007-2008 school year the committee continues to raise the profile of health
and safety among members.

ETFOs first Health and Safety Conference, entitled Emerging Health and Safety
Issues an ETFO Health and Safety Provincial Conference, took place on Friday
evening November 9, and Saturday, November 10, 2007. The conference
participants were members from various teacher and OT locals. The conference
had a number of presenters, along with ETFO provincial office staff, bringing the
total attendance to eighty-three. The keynote address was presented by ETFOs
legal counsel, Howard Goldblatt. Topics during the conference included Key
Components of Joint Health and Safety Committees (JHSC) Terms of Reference,
Mould Investigation and Remediation and Violence in the Workplace.

A Level II Committee and Level II Law, Workers Health and Safety Centre (WHSC)
scholarship training session took place from February 3
rd
to the 15
th
, 2008, and one
ETFO member took advantage of this training.

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In an effort to increase ETFOs pool of female members with Level I and Level II
WHSC Health and Safety training, thirty-seven women members from a number of
teacher and OT locals took advantage of this training. The workshops ran from
October 2007 to J une 2008. This will qualify these members to take advantage of
WHSC instructor training in the future.

In J une, ETFO will be sending three health and safety instructors to a three-day
Workers Health and Safety Centre (WHSC) instructor scholarship conference.


Recommendations to the 2008 Annual Meeting

1. That locals be encouraged through their J oint Occupational Health and Safety
Committee to develop an Indoor Air Quality policy.

2. That locals be encouraged through their J oint Occupational Health and Safety
Committee to develop a mould protocol.

3. That ETFO lobby the Minister of Labour to cease its practice of disbanding multi-
site J oint Occupational Health and Safety Committees when worker members on
the committee opposed this move.

4. That ETFO, through CTF, petition the Federal government to request a ban on
the export of chrysotile asbestos; just transitions for mining communities; the
development of a national registry for asbestos related disease; the
development of a national asbestos policy; and a review of both measurement
technology and threshold limits for asbestos in the workplace


Respectfully submitted,
Ken Gee, Chairperson


KG:SA:ARM