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.
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.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Woman with liver failure rejected for a transplant after medical review highlights alcohol use
For nearly three months, Amanda Huska has been in an Ontario hospital, part of it on life support, because of severe liver failure. Her history of alcohol use is getting in the way of her only potential treatment: a liver transplant.
B.C. man 'attacked suddenly' by adult grizzly near Alberta boundary: RCMP
A B.C. man is recovering from multiple injuries after he was "attacked suddenly" by an adult grizzly bear near Elkford Thursday afternoon.
His SUV was stolen on Montreal's South Shore. Then he got a $156 parking ticket
A couple is frustrated after their SUV was stolen from Montreal's South Shore in March and they received a parking ticket for the same vehicle last week.
Box tree moths have infested Ontario and experts say more are coming. Here's what to do to protect your garden
An invasive moth species is on the rise in Canada and, if you've planted a certain shrub, it could stand to ruin your garden.
Banking mogul suing government after intelligence leaks leave him shut out of Canadian economy
Chinese Canadian banking mogul Shenglin Xian has launched a $300 million lawsuit against the federal government. It’s a means to find the source of intelligence leaks which Xian says has cost him his livelihood.
Impaired driver sentenced to 7 years after double-fatal Cambridge crash
A man who killed two people in a drunk driving crash was sentenced Friday to seven years behind bars.
Online obituary business from Quebec City catching flak for posting unauthorized death notices
Some within the funeral home and mortuary services industries in Quebec say they are frustrated with an online obituary site that publishes death notices from public information posted on the internet. They claim the site is doing so without consent from the families.
Serial sexual offender linked to unsolved 1970s homicides of four Calgary girls, women
An investigation into unsolved historical homicides from the 1970s has linked the deaths of two girls and two young women in and around Calgary to a now-deceased serial offender.
The latest advice for expecting parents? Sign up for child care as soon as you're pregnant
Canada's new $10-a-day child care program is expanding, but there's growing evidence that demand for the program is rising even faster, leaving many parents on the outside looking in.