WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH HIGHLIGHTS
COMMITTEE. The existence of the GVSD workplace safety committee is legislated. (We're not doing this for the sheer joy of it...) It has reps from each school and meets 4 times a year to discuss safety issues and inspect worksites. The following groups are represented on the committee: teachers, custodians, bus drivers, admin, senior admin, and EA's/admin assistants/librarians.
CONCERNS. If you have a safety-related concern, first bring it to the person who is most likely to help you with it. For example, if an electrical outlet is not covered properly your head custodian would be the person to talk to. If that person cannot rectify that situation, then fill out a "Workplace Safety and Health Concern Form" and give it to the safety committee rep at your school. You should also "cc" any concern to your principal. If a concern poses a serious and/or immediate hazard, fill out a concern form right away.
BULLETIN BOARD. Somewhere in your building, there should be a Workplace Safety and Health Bulletin Board. It contains a lot of pertinent information, like what exactly the committee looks for when we do an inspection. The minutes of its meetings are also posted on the board; inside the minutes you can usually find the date of the next inspection.
INSPECTION ITEMS. Here's a couple of the important things for a typical classroom:
a) Paper covering no more than 20% of the total wall area. (This includes
bulletin boards.)
b) Minimal use of extension cords. In many cases, they are unavoidable,
and that's OK; be sure to unplug them at the end of the day.
Note that science, home-ec, and vocational areas have items completely different from a typical classroom.
REFUSING WORK. If you feel your work is putting you in an unsafe situation, you have the right to refuse it. Inform your principal and the safety committee rep at your school. If the situation cannot be rectified, you will likely be reassigned. (No early start to happy hour... Sorry about that...)
WHMIS TRAINING. By law, everybody needs to receive training on the "Workplace Hazardous Material
Information System." This will likely involve a short session during an early dismissal staff meeting in the fall.
VIOLENCE AND HARASSMENT. See GVSD policy.
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