Time to renew our commitment to occupational health and safety, UNA president says

It’s time for members of the United Nurses of Alberta and all working people to renew their commitment to worker health, safety and wellbeing, UNA President Heather Smith said on the occasion of the International Workers Day of Mourning.

She said the Day of Mourning, marked throughout the world each year on April 28, is an opportunity for union members to remember past tragedies and recommit themselves to the struggle to ensure workplaces everywhere are safe and healthy for all working people, including those who do not enjoy the protection of union membership.

“That is why, every April 28, nurses join with other working people throughout the world to speak up for health and safety in the workplace,” Smith said. “The Day of Mourning is an important opportunity for nurses in particular to reflect on the importance of their own health and safety at work.”

She noted that in the case of Registered Nurses and Registered Psychiatric Nurses, who make up the majority of UNA’s more than 30,000 members, a victory for worker safety is also a victory for patient safety. “The relationship of health and safety in health care workplaces, the wellbeing of patients, and nurses’ professional responsibilities to their patients is well understood.

“Effective health care depends on safe and skilled health care workers, and nurses’ ability to deliver this standard of care is clearly impacted by the potential for back injuries related to moving patients and the frequently experienced dangers of dealing with patients, their families and others in volatile situations,” she explained.

Smith noted that statistic from the Alberta Workers Compensation Board show that last year 125 women and men are known to have lost their lives as a result of workplace illnesses, accidents or exposures in the province.

She said recent WCB statistics also show the justification for the high level of concern among UNA members about workplace violence and security measures in the province’s health care facilities – especially those in rural areas where police services are far away and not always available.

Employers are required to provide safe workplaces for employees, and to educate all employees about how to report health and safety problems they experience or see developing, including the potential for workplace violence, Smith stated.

She noted that in 2016 UNA will be using the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety’s symbol of the dragonfly to represent the need to transform our own thinking about workplace health and safety.