As a worker, you have the right to refuse unsafe work. If you have reasonable cause to believe that performing a work process or using a tool or machine puts you or someone else at risk, you must not perform the job or task. You must immediately notify your supervisor or employer, who will then take the appropriate steps to determine if the work is unsafe and to remedy the situation.

Examples of unsafe work are physical injury or potential for physical injury, exposure to biohazards or potential to exposure to biohazards, exposure to dangerous chemicals or possible exposure to dangerous chemicals.

As a worker, you may not be disciplined or penalized for following these steps. Your employer or supervisor may temporarily assign a new task to you, at no loss in pay.

By identifying hazardous situations ahead of time, we can use that information to prevent injury and harm, making the workplace safer. This also creates a record of what hazards have been brought to the employer and their response to that hazard.

A near miss is an incident that did not result in an injury but had the potential to cause injury to a worker. This includes situations where there is a threat of violence. A culture of reporting near misses supports a preventative approach to health and safety where risks are being addressed before any injury has occurred.
 
How to report a hazard or near miss:

1. Report the unsafe condition or procedure

• As a worker, you must immediately stop the work and report the unsafe condition to your employer or supervisor.
• Your employer or supervisor must investigate the matter and fix it if possible. If they do not agree with the worker that the condition is unsafe, they must report back to the worker.
• If the worker and the employer or supervisor can’t agree on how to resolve the matter, move to step 2. If the employer or supervisor believe the work can safely be done by another worker while the matter is under investigation, they must:
  • Give notice in writing to the workers assigned or permitted to do the work
  • Give notice in writing to a worker representative of the joint health and safety committee, a union representative, or other worker, as applicable
  • Ensure the written notice includes:
    • The refusal and the reported unsafe condition
    • Reasons why the task would not create an undue hazard
    • The workers’ right to refuse the work

If you, the worker, disagree with the determination of the WCB officer, you can request a review of the decision, however you may be assigned the previously refused work task during the review process.

2. If the matter is not resolved in step 1

• Both the worker and the employer or supervisor must investigate the matter in the presence of one of the following:
  • A worker representative of the joint health and safety committee (or worker health and safety representative)
  • A worker chosen by the worker’s trade union
  • Any other worker chosen by the worker who first reported the unsafe condition

3. If the matter is still not resolved, notify WorkSafeBC

• If the matter is not resolved after following steps 1 and 2, both the worker and the supervisor or employer must contact WorkSafeBC. Call 604.276.3100, or toll-free 1.888.621.7233. A prevention officer will then investigate and take steps to find a workable solution.

If you have questions or concerns, you can reach out to your OHS representatives, Steward or Local Chair. If you have urgent concerns or would like to become an OHS rep, please contact us at [email protected].

You can also find us online at http://ohs.bcgeu.ca

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UWU/MoveUP