May 1-7 Health and Safety Week

According to WorkSafeBC, here is a typical year in statistics for BC in Public School Districts. The data wascollect between 2007-2012.

Facts about Public School Districts

• 60 school districts
• 90, 500 workers
• just under 1,600 time-loss claims
• just under 45, 000 lost days of work
• over $7.2 million claims costs

Who is getting injured in Public Schools?

• 28% Maintenance/custodial workers
• 22% Educational Assistants
• 15% Elementary school teachers
• 11% Secondary teachers
• 24% others (includes principals, vice principals, bus drivers,...)

How are they getting injured?

• 30% slips trips and falls
• 28% overexertion injuries
• 11% struck by an object (of which 22% of the time the person was struck by a student)
• 8% acts of violence and force
• 23% all other accident types

Demographics of Injured Workers

• 59% female, 41% male
• 10% under 35 years of age
• 21% 35-44 years of age
• 42% 45-54 years of age
• 26% over 54 years of age

The Result of Violence in Schools

• 67% of public school workers were educational assistants
• 15% were elementary teachers
• 9% were secondary teachers
• Over 50% of the public school workers getting injured as a result of violence were 45 years of age or older and 89% were female

April 28 Day of Mourning

On 1991, the Federal Government legislated April 28th as a Day of Mourning to recognize those people who were killed or injured due to their work. This year the BC Labour Heritage Centre in conjunction with the British Columbia Teachers Federation, WorkSafeBC and BC Federation of Labour have created a educational package for schools to deliver the message about worker rights for new and young workers.


BC has the lowest age in which a child can enter the work force: 12 years old. The youngest in North America. These organizations want to make new and young workers aware that they run a greater risk of being injured on the job than workers in any other age group. The statistics are chilling.

• ​​In BC, an average of 27 young workers have time loss injuries every day.

• Every week, seven young workers are permanently disabled in BC

• Close to one third of all occupational injuries happen to young workers

• On average in BC, over 150 people are killed every year due to their work

• On average, approximately 1,100 workers across Canada are killed every year due to their work

We always argue for our own safety at work. Just like learning conditions, better and safer working conditions for us means better conditions for our students. Health and safety is everybody's business and it is important that we inform our students as well.

You can check out the resources at this link:  http://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/domschoolsproject/ 
Hold a minute of silence on April 28th. Put up posters or have students make them. Download some of the activities from the website such as the script to be read over the announcements. Let's lower the risks for young workers, our students.

Be Safe.

New concussion resource for teachers helps children and youth with recovery

News Release from the BCTF Health and Safety Division

Vancouver – BC Children’s Hospital is launching a new evidence-based tool for educators to help prevent, recognize and respond to concussions in the classroom.

The Concussion Awareness Training Tool (CATT) is an online, free resource that school professionals can use to help children as they return to school after time off from a concussion or if they sustain a concussion while at school.

Outdoor activities and sports like hockey, soccer and football are a fun way for children and teens to stay active. But if an impact happens that involves a direct blow to the head or other part of the body, it can result in a brain injury known as a concussion.

Developed by the BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit at BC Children’s Hospital and the University of British Columbia (UBC), the CATT provides educators with recommendations about classroom adjustments to help students as they recover and to avoid potential life-long complications.

After a head injury, a lot of ordinary things at school can bring back concussion symptoms. Stimulation from other kids in the classroom, loud noises on the playground, and the stress of school work can trigger headaches, nausea, dizziness and confusion.

Teachers can go to www.cattonline.com to find out about modifications they can make for a concussed student such as reducing reading and homework, shortening the school day or adjusting deadlines for projects and tests. The tool features short, five-minute videos with sports stars like pro hockey player Sidney Crosby that provide kids with tips about staying safe during play.

The CATT also has specific information for medical professionals, parents, players and coaches. Smartphone-accessible forms and tools help parents and coaches track symptoms in order to respond to a head injury and record information that may be helpful to medical professionals.

The resources in the CATT are updated on a monthly basis. The tool was developed based on the latest research and best-practice recommendations by researchers provincially, nationally and internationally, with funding from the Ministry of Health, Child Health BC and the BC Children's Hospital Foundation.

School Professionals can read specific information and attain resources at this link: http://educators.cattonline.com/

Are you ready for The Big One?

A few weeks ago, our area felt the effects of an earthquake whose epicenter was just off the inland coast of Southern Vancouver Island. Every year our staffs and students practice the ‘duck and cover’ procedure followed by an evacuation of the building. Yet when this one struck outside of school hours, I remained on my couch wondering what had happened. I did not duck and cover, even though I have practiced this procedure every year for over 21 years!

Perhaps it is the infrequent nature of earthquakes that we physically experience that causes us to hesitate. We wonder if it is an explosion, or a large truck passing by before hitting Google to see what happened. The telltale signs of a fire are easy to identify as are flooding, and power outages. The windstorms of November pointed out some gaps in the School Emergency Preparedness Guide in dealing with some of the calamities that can accost our worksites.

The School Emergency Preparedness Guide sets out the protocols for dealing with emergencies that may best the workplace. From Lockdowns to Earthquakes, procedures and protocols are identified. Your school will also have handbooks describing the procedures to follow in the event of one of these emergencies. Procedures change as well, so it is a good document to review by Joint Occupational Health and Safety committees. For instance, many sites still have search and rescue teams to go through the school once students have been evacuated in an earthquake scenario. Yet, that is no longer required for safety reasons. Only trained First Responders should enter a building after an earthquake. How many of you are still doing that job?

Maybe we wont react exactly as we are supposed to in an emergency situation, but we can be prepared. I encourage Health and Safety reps to check out the School Emergency Preparedness Guide to ensure your school is practicing the proper protocols. You can find the document on the Staff Portal at the District website. It is under Human Resources/Health and Safety page.

As for the gaps identified from the windstorms, the District Occupational Health and Safety committee is working to include those in the Guide as soon as possible.

Be Safe,

One More Form!

The latest Health and Safety bulletin just came out from the District Health and Safety office. It contained a good poster on First Aid. One thing missing due to space limitations was to fill out a Form 6a. 

I know in the heat of the incident it is the last thing you want to do. Time with your class is precious and the incident or injury seems minor. Yet completing a Form 6a is important. I wont regal you with a series of stories of people who ignored this step and then WCB refused to honour a later claim. Nor will I recount the little injuries that became big problems later on for employees. Suffice it to say, completing the form, even if you never have another issue stemming from the problem, is like an insurance policy. It establishes when the injury occurred. If you require time off, instead of using your sick time, it will be classified as WCB time and they pay for your absence. If rehabilitation or physiotherapy is required, WCB will pay for it.

Some members have encountered resistance or obstacles put in their face by WorkSafe claim adjusters. Unfortunately this has happened as WorkSafe is not always as supportive as it should be. If you have a claim denied or getting held up by WorkSafe please contact Diane Irvine at the BCTF office. Her contact info is dirvine@bctf.ca or call toll free 1-800-663-9163 and ask for Diane.

Filling out Form 6a also provides the District Occupational Health and Safety Committee with the ability to track trends of incidents / injuries that happen to the various employee groups. This review allows us the opportunity to target certain issues or investigate a particular worksite to create prevention strategies. One reason I am writing this post is due to the number of injuries sustained but no form 6a was completed. In some cases the injury was significant but no further medical assistance was sought out. 

Perhaps we teachers are a stoic bunch or we have a habit of putting the needs of others before our own. I implore you to not put off filing out the Form 6a. It might save your life!

Violence, Bullying and Harassment in the Workplace

Violence in the workplace can be a frightening experience for workers. We know that working with people, there is always a possibility of encountering violence, bullying or harassment. People are unpredictable. With adults, we expect mature behaviour but children are less sophisticated. Nevertheless, it is not the expectation that it is part of your employment. The Worker Compensation Act and WorkSafe BC were created to ensure that BC workers work in safe and healthy environments. As the BC Federation of Labour reminds us, "Violence is NOT part of your job."

If you have been humiliated, sworn at, spat on or hit at work, you have experienced workplace violence. Constant exposure to workplace violence, even the seemingly small stuff like the passing comments of parents, "the other teacher does it differently," for example, can wear you down over time. Constant exposure can have repercussions on your physical and mental health, as well as, your job satisfaction. Because of the implications for the employer, such as increased sick time and lower productivity, they have an investment in reducing and eliminating workplace violence.

Our District has now put into place several policies and programs to this end. Policy 4304, 4300.1, and 5131 and their accompanying Regulations clearly state the employer's commitment to staff safety. The Violence Prevention Protocol and new WCB Bullying and Harassment policy add teeth to any worker claim of violence, bullying or harassment. We have Collective Agreement language that set out the process for dealing with workplace harassment or sexual harassment. It is no longer tolerable for any worker to experience these actions anymore. Parents cannot shout, berate or intimidate us any longer. It is unacceptable. We do not have to accept threats, fouls language or physical violence from students regardless of age.

These concerns are relative to the worker. If the staff member felt threatened, intimidated or abused, then our processes can kick in. WorkSafe BC defines violence as, 

"the attempted or actual exercise, other than a worker, of any physical force sa as to cause injury to a worker, and includes any threatening statement or behaviour which gives a worker reasonable cause to believe that he or she is at risk of injury."

If it is worker to worker violence, another process comes into play. The bullying and harassment policy from WorkSafe defines it as the following,

"includes any inappropriate conduct or comment by a person towards a worker that the person knew or reasonably ought to have known would cause that worker to be humiliated or intimidated...”

    The definition is broader and includes the actions of colleagues, students, parents and administrators. Being directed or disciplined by an administrator is not harassment, unless it is done in an intimidating or humiliating manner.

 In our office, we do receive complaints of violence from students, but also threatening or intimidating behaviour by administrators, inappropriate remarks made by co-workers and strong-arm behaviour by parents. It is the vindictive email, the negative discussion of a teacher at a PAC meeting, unwanted innuendos by a co-worker or the "guys only" table in a staffroom.

    The most egregious complaints, believe it or not, are about the few principals who will humiliate teachers in staff meetings to suppress dissent, the placing of baby bottles in teacher mailboxes for those that complain, administrators who use homophobic remarks, comments about absences, paternalistic attitudes or gossip about a teacher to his/her co-workers to bring someone in line. It is about power: creating authoritarian or abusive environments to manage schools or to gain something from another person. It has to stop.

It is time to change this culture in our schools. We have the commitment from the Board of Education. We have a commitment from the new Superintendent to create a more respectful and collaborative atmosphere. We have the processes and protocols to deal with these behaviours and attitudes. Let's use them for our benefit. We have the right to a safe and healthy work environment. A safe workplace is everybody's responsibility, let's make it happen.

Welcome back to a new school year

A new school year and time to assure and assert your Health and Safety rights. First things first, however, does your school have an active health and safety committee? The committee should have fifty per cent representation from the employee groups of your school. This committee is a legislated requirement and therefore at least one GVTA member needs to be on the committee.

I don't wish to nag but it is important that we have representation on the committee. It is helpful if the name of the GVTA member on the JOHS committee is forwarded to the GVTA office. Carolina can then add it to the database. The health and safety email list is used to send pertinent information out to committee members.

In the coming month, the union will send out a report on the survey we asked teachers to fill out in June. There is some interesting information stemming from that survey already. While teachers are experiencing more violent behaviour, the number of Form 1 documents (Worker Statement of Incident) completed is considerably less. The need for more education for administrators and teachers is very evident.

The area of "violence in the workplace" will continue to be a major focus for me this year. The new regulations and policies on Bullying and Harassment are also a primary concern. There are clearer and more defined rules to protect workers and the education sector is quickly catching up. We are not trying to label students hazards, but you are entitled to a violence free workplace.

At an upcoming SURT (school union rep training) session, of which H&S reps will be invited, we will run a session on the Violence Prevention Protocol and Bullying and Harassment Policy. We will dissect the forms and processes to make the system less complicated or frightening.

Stay Safe

David Futter