Health & Safety: Fines the employee for staffing problems

[GrooveTunes]

So much for the "we don't need unions anymore because we have the laws to protect us from employers that don't respect workers".

http://www.leaderpost.com/life/Union+says+worker+safety+fines+fair/8989623/story.html

[tgm929]

So much for the "we don't need unions anymore because we have the laws to protect us from employers that don't respect workers".

http://www.leaderpost.com/life/Union+says+worker+safety+fines+fair/8989623/story.html

So your saying that employees should be allowed to do things that endanger other people and receive no repercussions? Can you not see what is wrong with that?

[coffeeFreak]

So your saying that employees should be allowed to do things that endanger other people and receive no repercussions? Can you not see what is wrong with that?

Of course employees must be accountable for how they treat residents, HOWEVER since privatization has occurred in some of these settings, many facilities are grossly understaffed. If a facility is understaffed and a resident is endangered, IMO the employer who created the situation MUST be held accountable. And until the right people are held accountable all the charges in the world lodged against front line staff will be pointless.

[tgm929]

Of course employees must be accountable for how they treat residents, HOWEVER since privatization has occurred in some of these settings, many facilities are grossly understaffed.

I'd like to see proof of this beyond some union executive saying this has occurred.


Also, these fines do not relate only to the healthcare industry so what we have is unions grasping at threads to once again protect their incompetent employees, with no thought given to the safety of the general public and their own "brothers" and "sisters".

[coffeeFreak]

I'd like to see proof of this beyond some union executive saying this has occurred.


Also, these fines do not relate only to the healthcare industry so what we have is unions grasping at threads to once again protect their incompetent employees, with no thought given to the safety of the general public and their own "brothers" and "sisters".

I worked in a not for profit facility...two careaids, twelve complex care residents, Some residents were cognitively impaired, but others were completely with it, but were unable to care of themselves physically (it was heartbreaking to watch them because a lot of our time was spent caring, redirecting and diffusing those with behavioural problems) leaving little time to have conversations with them. We had to give complete care to each of them: all medications except for narcotics and anything by syringes, prepare and cook all snacks and meals which included preparing pureed food for those needing it, feeding, ensuring enough fluids are taken in,do all dishes, do all resident and facility laundry, weekly bathing, toileting, stocking of inventory (food and briefs etc), shovel the sidewalks. Plus, if we wanted to celebrate holiday seasons we would volunteer our time and money for decorations as the facility provided extreme basics. Add dementia, a UTI or two, palliative care, someone who is too unwell to get out of bed so feeding must be done in their rooms at the pace they can eat, demanding family (who really only want the best for their loved one), a case of diarrhea, casuals who don't know the residents and/or the routine, etc, etc, etc....

How much time do you think there was to provide proper care? One more person even for a four hr shift would have made an incredible difference in the quality of care to those seniors. After I left, I heard they had cut back staffing. How can charging an employee for endangering a resident be justified under these challenging expectations?
I also think that until people deal with a loved one needing healthcare (especially in complex care) they have no idea of how stretched services are.

[tgm929]

Nice story, but nothing to do with staff violating health and safety rules.

Also, healthcare is only one of many, many industries this applies to, so even if there are staff shortages at some places, it's not really justification to eliminate the entire program across all industries in the entire province.

[coffeeFreak]

Nice story, but nothing to do with staff violating health and safety rules.

Also, healthcare is only one of many, many industries this applies to, so even if there are staff shortages at some places, it's not really justification to eliminate the entire program across all industries in the entire province.

A good portion of the article posted by the OP does focus on staffing shortages in healthcare was and my "story" was in response to one of your comments saying you would like proof about staffing shortages. As for safety, you darned right understaffing contributes to the potential for unintentional health and safety violations.

REGINA — New legislation to impose fines on workers for unsafe job practises should be postponed until health care facilities have safe staff levels, a union official says.

A report released this week showing inadequate staffing levels at long term care homes illustrates the problem health care workers face, said Barb Cape, president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) West.

Workers are run off their feet trying to care for too many patients without enough help.

“Introducing summary offence tickets, especially in the health care sector at this time, is misguided and it should be postponed indefinitely until we can get a handle on safe staffing levels,” she said.

Elderly residents wait too long to go the bathroom, for baths and other basic care. At the same time, there aren’t always enough mechanical lifts or they don’t all work, the report shows.

“In theory” workers can refuse to do an unsafe lift, Cape said, but “workers I’ve talked to, would not do that ... You’re not going to refuse to provide care because there’s not enough people. You’ll do your damnedest to provide that care, no matter what it takes.”

Such workers, who repeatedly violate safety regulations, could be fined hundreds of dollars under summary offence ticketing that will take affect sometime in 2014.

“This becomes a real problem and quite unfair in an industry where safe staffing levels are compromised daily,” Cape said.

The power of provincial Occupational Health inspectors to issue tickets to workers, supervisors and employers in all work sectors, not just health care, was announced last November, but implementation has been delayed as the government consults with unions and employers, said Don Morgan, Minister for Labour Relations and Workplace Safety.

Fines for workers contravening health and safety laws were set at $250 in a Dec. 2012 fact sheet. Supervisors would be fined $400 for a longer list of failures and employers would be subject to fines between $400 and $1,000.

Health region budgets strained by the province’s growing and aging population are no excuse for unsafe work practises, Morgan said.

“This isn’t a matter of resources. It’s a matter of saying this is a priority. It is something that has to be done. We can’t afford to have workers injured on the job. Our accident rate is too high.”

“It’s not something we want to be flexible about. We expect them to do their work in a safe manner.”

Safe habits are especially important for aging workers, who are at greater risk of injuring themselves, Morgan noted.

Morgan said he doesn’t want the ticketing issued to be used as a midterm negotiating tool for staffing levels, which are determined during union contract negotiations.

Ticketing injured workers won’t fix them, Cape said. The health care system needs better safety training, more lift equipment and more people to do the lifting, she said.

She was also dismayed that money will go into the government’s general revenues rather than being directed to health car

e.