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McMaster School of Labour Studies Health and Safety Teach-In May 25th, 2010
LABOUR OHCOW ACADEMIC RESEARCH COLLABORATION
Dear Health and Safety Activist:
"Internal Responsibility Thirty Years Later: Not Yet Healthy: and Still Not Safe"
You are invited to attend an important teach-in where you and other health and safety activists
(researchers, workers, union representatives, and community) will share knowledge about
health and safety concerns and strategize how workers can address today's challenges in
preventing workplace injuries, fatalities and occupational disease.
Date:
Time:
Location:
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
9:00 - 4:00 (lunch provided)
McMaster University, Degroote School of Business, Room 505
1280 Main St. West, Hamilton, L8S 4L8
The Occupational Health and Safety Act came into law in 1979, but workers still die, get injured,
or suffer from occupational disease every day in Ontario. Protections of health and safety law
do not come automatically. Positive changes come only when workers, unions, and community
work with sympathetic professionals and academics to demand safe and healthy workplaces
and refuse to be poisoned and maimed on the job. This is what May 25 is about: sharing
research and experiences among people who have a common interest in protecting workers'
health and building the knowledge, mobilization, and action that will make a difference in
Ontario.
At the teach-in, we will reflect on management responsibilities for health and safety and the
current system of worker representation and enforcement. We will discuss the social factors
that affect health and safety, the impact of globalization and the precarious status of workers,
and strategize actions that will move Ontario's current prevention and compensation systems
to provide more effective protection. We will share experiences and collaborate together to
inspire each other to work towards making sure that Ontario workers actually do get to be
"safe and healthi' before another thirty years elapses.
The time is right for this discussion. A government appointed panelled by Tony Dean is
conducting a comprehensive review of Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety System (OHS)
and enforcement system and will report back in the fall of 2010 with recommendations for
improvement. We will be using this day to highlight and discuss our concerns about the future
of health and safety in Ontario, and our proposals for making health and safety a true priority.
Your involvement can help us to make this effort a success.
Please join us. To register, please email Wayne Lewchuk at
In solidarity,
Andy King, on behalf of Labour, Academic, Organizational
Research Collaboration (LOARC) Chair
LOARC organizing committee:
Alec Farquhar, Managing Director, Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers
(OHCOW)
Wayne Lewchuk, McMaster University
Alan Halt University of Windsor
Robert Storey, McMaster University
Syed Naqvi, OHCOW
Nick DeCarlo, CAW
Terri Aversa, OPSEU
Laura Lozanski, CAUT
