Managers must tell new hires about risk of violence at work under new Sask. employment rules

Saskatchewan employers will be required to tell new hires if they face a risk of violence in the workplace and to take actions against it starting on May 17.

Under the employment act amendments taking effect later this month, workplaces must have a violence policy and prevention plan in place that identifies where violent situations have occurred or may occur and informs workers about the risks, including warnings about people with a history of violent behaviour who could become a risk to employees.

Employers will also be required to take action to prevent violent incidents, investigate when they occur, and provide training and counselling for employees.

The amendments take effect just months after Saskatchewan teachers went public about violent incidents they’ve faced at school, including chairs thrown across the classroom, destroyed equipment and physical assault.

Over 35 per cent of the province's teachers reported experiencing violence at work in the last five years, according to the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation (STF).

One substitute teacher described being struck in the head and jaw multiple times after asking students not to run in the hallways, causing a compound fracture in his jaw.

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STF president Samantha Becotte told CTV News at the time that Occupational Health and Safety oversight wasn’t meeting the needs of teachers, and that school division policies and procedures were not consistent across the province.

Library workers in Saskatoon have also faced numerous threats of violence and physical assault in recent years.

Last month, some city libraries began closing earlier after an employee and security guard were allegedly assaulted at the Carlyle King Library.

https://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/we-ve-reached-a-breaking-point-saskatoon-libraries-reducing-hours-amid-workplace-violence-1.6854337

A 2023 survey from the Canadian Union of Public Employees reported that half of Saskatchewan library workers said they have experienced violence at work.

According to CUPE’s report, 78 per cent of respondents experienced verbal abuse, 71 per cent have witnessed violence, and nearly half were subjected to threats of physical harm.

In February 2022, two library branches were forced to close for two weeks because staff no longer felt safe at work.

A CUPE spokesperson told CTV News that a library worker was punched in the face after asking a patron to wear a face mask, and in a separate incident, there was an attempted abduction of a library worker when she was leaving the building at night.

“Everyone has the right to feel safe when they come to work,” Minister of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety Don McMorris said in the provincial news release.

“Having a violence policy and investigating all incidents is a step toward protecting workers from acts of violence.”

The amendments cover provincially regulated workplaces, which includes most employers except for banks, grain elevators, air transportation, First Nations bands, federal works, telecoms, postal workers, railways and broadcasters.