Did you know

You need to contact the Parking Office in the Centre or switchboard to let them know if you have forgotten your tag. Support Services has received a new database that allows the parking office to issue time to your car so you won’t get a ticket. Switchboard doesn’t have the database yet so they will issue you a temporary pass.

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That anyone who becomes aware of safety issues and does nothing to address it could be subject to a fine of $25,000 by the Ministry of Labour. This applies to ALL staff whether a manager, non-managers, frontline staff, basically anyone who works in our facility!

"In the event that a Ministry inspector discovers non-compliance with the OHSA

(including the new provisions that have been introduced via Bill 168) and/or its

regulations, he or she can issue appropriate compliance orders. Significantly, violations of the legislation (and/or of inspectors’ orders) can also result in charges against employers, supervisors and individual employees, all of whom have duties under the OHSA (again, including the new Bill 168 provisions). Convictions for such violations can attract significant penalties—in that regard, for each offence, an individual will face a fine of up to $25,000 and/or twelve (12) months’ imprisonment, and a corporation will be subject to a fine of up to $500,000.

Be smart, report any and all infractions! Know and exercise your rights! BE SAFE! BE STRONG!

- Providing, facilitating, advocating and promoting the best possible care for clients;

- taking action in situations where client safety and well-being are compromised;

- ensuring that mechanisms allow for staffing decisions that are in the best interest of clients and professional practice; and

- advocating for a quality practice setting that supports nurse’s ability to provide safe, effective and ethical care.

If you have cause to believe that you are being asked to perform more work than is consistent with proper, safe patient care, it is important to discuss with the manager immediately.

If you fail to get support from your manager/program, please contact the Union Office at 6478 or email opseu331@bellnet.ca

Under the Occupational Health & Safety Act, all workers, all of us, have the right to refuse work that you believe may endanger your health and safety. If your staffing numbers are not adequate, this can be a work refusal. If there are hazards on your unit this can be a work refusal. This "reason to believe" allows you to refuse a job, a work process, a work area, machinery or equipment, or the physical condition of an area if it is "likely" to endanger health and safety.

Do not be intimidated, if you feel you are in danger or even your clients are in danger, then exercise your legal right! Call the Union Office or switchboard for immediate help and a member of the Health & Safety Committee will be paged.

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With Ontario's Family Medical Leave, you're eligible for up to eight weeks job-protected leave from work in the event of a loved one becoming gravely ill. So you can stop work and care for them, knowing your job will be there when you get back.

How does it work?

An employee can take Family Medical Leave up to eight weeks to provide care or support to certain family members and people who consider the employee to be like a family member in respect of whom a qualified medical practitioner has issued a certificate indicating that he or she has a serious medical condition with a significant risk of death occurring within a period of 26 weeks.

Family Medical Leave is available to you whether you apply for federal Employment Insurance compassionate care benefits or not. If you are applying for Employment Insurance (EI) compassionate care benefits, a copy of the medical certificate submitted to Human Resources and Social Development Canada may also be used for the purpose of family medical leave.

Who can take Family Medical Leave?

All employees, whether fulltime or part-time, permanent or contract, who are covered by the Employment Standards Act, 2000 are entitled to Family Medical Leave.

What does providing care or support mean?

Care or support includes: providing psychological or emotional support, arranging for care by a third party provider or directly providing or participating in the care of the family member.

For which family members may a Family Medical Leave be taken?

The specified individuals for whom a family medical leave may be taken are:

the employee’s spouse (including same-sex spouse)
a parent, step-parent or foster parent of the employee or the employee’s spouse
a child, step-child or foster child of the employee or the employee’s spouse
a brother, step-brother, sister, or step-sister of the employee
a grandparent or step-grandparent of the employee or of the employee’s spouse
a grandchild or step-grandchild of the employee or of the employee’s spouse
a brother-in-law, step-brother-in-law, sister-in-law or step-sister-in-law of the employee
a son-in-law or daughter-in-law of the employee or of the employee’s spouse
an uncle or aunt of the employee or of the employee’s spouse
the nephew or niece of the employee or of the employee’s spouse
the spouse of the employee’s grandchild, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece
Family medical leave may also be taken for a person who considers the employee to be like a family member. Employees wishing to take a family medical leave for a person in this category must provide their employer, if requested, with a completed copy of the Compassionate Care Benefits Attestation form, available from Human Resources and Social Development Canada, (www.hrsdc.gc.ca), whether or not they are making an application for EI Compassionate Care Benefits or are required to complete the form to obtain such benefits.

Does Family Medical Leave have to be taken all at one time?

The eight weeks of a Family Medical Leave do not have to be taken consecutively but an employee may only take a leave in periods of entire weeks within a specified 26-week period.

Are Employment Insurance (EI) benefits available to an employee who takes Family Medical Leave?

Six weeks of Employment Insurance benefits called Compassionate Care Benefits may be paid to EI eligible employees taking Ontario's Family Medical Leave.

For information about EI Compassionate Care Benefits, please call your nearest Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) office or call toll-free to 1-800-206-7218. You can also visit HRSDC's website at www.hrsdc.gc.ca

Within our workplace is a Labor Management Committee, also known as LMC. A joint meeting between your Local Executive Team and members of both Human Resources and Managment, we have monthly meetings to discuss and suggest improvements in efficiency and working conditions, iron out problems and sustain dialogue in order to contribute to the enhancement of the relationship between the parties. Our main goal is to improve our working environment.

Many of the issues your Executive Team takes to these meetings we receive from YOU, the members of our workplace. Whether you have issues with the format of your paystub, to shift exchanges, or even safety/working conditions, we will take all of these concerns to this meeting.

If you have any issues you would like discussed at this forum, please leave a detailed message at extension #6351 or #6478, or email us at communication@opseu331.org.