SECOND PHASE OF WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY CONSULTATIONS BEGIN

Consultations on the second phase of proposed changes to The Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 and regulations will begin immediately and wrap up August 31, 2007.

"Saskatchewan has reduced its workplace injury rate by 18 per cent since 2003," Labour Minister David Forbes said. "That's a significant accomplishment, but it's only the beginning. We can - and we must - do more to reduce the number of people being injured at work."

This round of consultations will focus on proposed amendments to areas such as:

• general duties of employers, supervisors, suppliers and contractors with regard to health and safety;
• establishing occupational health committees and occupational health and safety programs;
• occupational health and safety appeal procedures and timelines; and
• health and safety training and record-keeping.

The first round of consultations, completed in April, focused on regulations with a high impact on injury prevention.

"We're very pleased with the response to the first phase of consultations and are looking forward to similar feedback during this phase," Forbes said.

Following this consultation, the Department of Labour will assess the results and put forward recommendations for amendments to the legislation.

The proposed amendments are based largely on recommendations put forward by the Occupational Health and Safety Council, a bi-partite group with representation from both employers and workers.

Anyone interested in providing feedback on these changes or seeing the complete list of consultation topics, should visit www.labour.gov.sk.ca.

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For more information, contact:

Shannon Dumba
Labour
Regina
Phone: 306-787-3021
Email: sdumba@lab.gov.sk.ca