There are two legal requirements to ensure committee members are properly trained at the expense of the employer. In addition to these legal requirements, HSA's practice is to train all Occupational Health and Safety and Joint OSH Committee Representatives on the union's perspective on OHS matters. You can register for workshops through our events page. Details of the employer training obligations are as follows:
- For new committee members:
The employer must ensure that each member of the joint committee, as soon as practicable but no more than 6 months after becoming a member, receives a total of at least 8 hours of instruction and training. The instruction and training must include the following topics:
(a) the duties and functions of a joint committee under section 130 of the Workers Compensation Act;
(b) the rules of procedure of the joint committee as established under or set out in section 131 of the Workers Compensation Act;
(c) the requirements respecting investigations under sections 173 to 176 of the Workers Compensation Act;
(d) the requirements respecting inspections under sections 3.5, 3.7 and 3.8 of this regulation and how to make regular inspections under section 3.5 of this regulation;
(e) the requirements respecting refusal of unsafe work under section 3.12 of this regulation;
(f) the requirements respecting the evaluation of joint committees under section 3.26 of this regulation. (Section 327, OHS Regulation)
2. For all committee members:
In addition to the above, each member of a joint committee is entitled to an annual educational leave totaling eight hours, or a longer period if prescribed by regulation, for the purposes of attending occupational health and safety training courses. A member of the joint committee may designate another member as being entitled to take all or part of the member's educational leave. The employer must provide the educational leave under this section without loss of pay or other benefits and must pay for, or reimburse the worker for, the costs of the training course and the reasonable costs of attending the course. (WCA Part 3 S135)
For information about OH&S education available through the union, check the HSA website for upcoming workshops