My InfoUnionized student staff with teaching or research functions

Article 22 : health and safety

22.1 The Union and the Employer shall cooperate in developing and promoting rules and practices to maintain a safe and healthy workplace. The Employer shall make all reasonable provisions for the occupational safety and health of Employees.

22.2 The Employer acknowledges its responsibility to provide a safe and healthy workplace, to provide facilities, supplies, services, procedures and training required by the Occupational Health and Safety Act to protect the health, safety, and security of Employees as they carry out their responsibilities of employment on the Employer’s premises. The Parties agree that the Employer shall provide, and the member shall make use of, protective equipment whenever such equipment is required by the Act or Regulations pertaining to the Act for the safe performance of the Employee’s responsibilities of employment.

Therefore, no Employee shall be required to act in a manner that constitutes a hazard to their health or safety. In addition, no Employee should be penalized for refusing to perform work that would be contrary to the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

22.3 Union members of the University Occupational Health and Safety Committee and sectoral health and safety committees shall be entitled to time off to attend educational courses and seminars sponsored by any agencies or the Union for instruction and upgrading of health and safety matters. This time off will not be considered as time worked unless required under the terms of reference of the University Health and Safety Committee or under applicable legislation.

22.4 Employees shall be made aware of the risk of occupational exposure to certain hazardous materials for the unborn child, in very clear terms, as part of all health and safety course materials. These courses include but are not limited to, Animal Care Handling Course, WHMIS, Bioharzardous Materials Safety Course and Radiation Safety Course.

Employees may seek all pertinent information related to exposure to hazardous materials, including those which are biohazardous in nature, from the appropriate MSDS information, the Radiation Safety Officer, and the Occupational Health and Safety Officer.

22.5 An Employee who becomes pregnant may request precautionary measures, including a modified work program, to protect themself and the fetus, provided that they report their pregnancy to the Radiation Safety Officer, where appropriate, and the Assistant Director, Health, Wellness and Leave. An appropriate modified work program will be implemented for the duration of the pregnancy, with no loss of pay or seniority during the period of modified work, it being understood that the modification does not reduce the number of hours worked. Where the Employee makes no such report and no such request, there is no obligation on the Employer to provide such precautionary measures.

22.6 Where an Employee is exposed to an infectious agent either by working directly with an infectious organism or by working with human or animal tissues or fluids, the Employer agrees to pay the cost of any required vaccination not covered by provincial or municipal health plans. It is understood that the cost of vaccination that is required as a prerequisite of registration in any program of study will not be paid pursuant to this provision. The University agrees not to modify existing policies regarding prerequisite vaccinations unless required to do so by any external agency.

22.7 In order to satisfy the requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (S.8(15) and S.9(34)) and article 4.8 of the Terms of Reference of the Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee: University and Sectoral Committees, with regards to considering time spent for committee work as work time, the Employer and CUPE Local 2626 agree to recognize two hundred and ten (210) hours of work time for such activities for all CUPE representatives on the various sectoral and University health and safety committees (two (2) hours per meeting for five (5) meetings per year and one (1) hour of preparation for each meeting, and six (6) hours of inspections per year, per representative).

For every member nominated as a representative to the University Occupational Health and Safety Committee (UOHSC) by a sectoral committee, fifteen (15) additional hours per year will be added to the hours shown in the previous paragraph, upon the University being notified of this nomination.

An amount equivalent to the total hours, times the hourly rate for Teaching Assistants for each calendar period, will be paid directly to CUPE Local 2626 for this purpose, once a year. The distribution of this money will be at the full discretion of the Union, provided that the Union provides a record of spent money to the University upon request.

This money will be forwarded to the Union by the 30th of September of each year.