Seaspan – Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee

The Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee at your office needs your help.  This committee is made up of both union members and management who ensure your office/worksite is a safe and healthy environment in which to work. We need 1 person on the committee to represent the MoveUP members at Seaspan ULC. Your employer has endeavoured to improve the health and safety at your workplace and in order to achieve these goals, we need to have every union represented at the meetings. In the past, the committee has been made up of a limited number of unions which does not accurately reflect the diverse types of employees at Seaspan ULC. It is time to take a seat at the table and make sure your concerns are addressed.

In accordance with Workers’ Compensation Act, Division 4, joint occupational health & safety (OH&S) meetings will take place every month to identify and make recommendations that correct unsafe and unhealthy work environments.  You may conduct worksite inspections and participate in any investigations or inquiries of the workplace.

The time you spend on committee business is paid for by the employer.  Every new committee member is required to receive training as soon as possible. In addition, all committee members are entitled to eight (8) hours of education leave each year. All of this training is paid fully by Seaspan ULC, including your time away from work, the course costs and all reasonable expenses.  We recommend that all committee members take their training through the BC Federation of Labour’s Health and Safety Centre.  A list of courses can be found on their website at www.healthandsafetybc.ca.

If you are interested in joining your Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee or would like more information about what is involved in being on this committee, please contact me at ygarie@moveuptogether.ca or your MoveUP Vice-President, Christy Slusarenko at cslusarenko@moveuptogether.ca.

All bargaining unit committee members are appointed by our union’s president, as outlined in our Constitution.

During these times, we want to be sure that all of our members are getting the help and support they need, whether working from home, or in the office. For those working from home right now, workplace illnesses and injuries can still affect you and having an active Joint Occupational Health and Safety committee can help alleviate some of those potential concerns that may arise.

In solidarity,

Yudon Garie, Union Representative
Christy Slusarenko, Vice-President, Combined Units