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Hello Sisters and Brothers,
During these challenging times I have noted an increased demand for resources and assistance from locals and servicing representatives on the right to refuse unsafe work. I have complied several documents that may be useful to your locals as additional questions and concerns arise. The distribution of these documents is not an attempt to increase work refusals or counsel our members to engage in work refusals; that remains their individual prerogative based on their own assessment of having reasonable grounds to believe their work is unsafe. These documents are intended to streamline the process, increase clarity, and ensure we are holding employers and government accountable to follow the processes established by the Occupational Health and Safety Acts in both Nova Scotia and in Newfoundland and Labrador. All attached documents are applicable for use in both provinces.
Attached you will find the following documents:
1 – Refusal Reporting Form
This is a form members can use to report their work refusal to their employer and the form lays out, in sequence, all the steps that must be followed during the course of a work refusal from the initial report to the supervisor all the way to a refusal that is referred to an Office for investigation. This was created because CUPE’s advice to our members has consistently been to report their refusal in writing, but many of our employers have not created a system for doing so. If the employer has their own form and insists members use it to report to them, we must advise our members to follow this directive from their employer. In those instances, this template form can still be useful as a guide to ensure the employer is following the process as prescribed.
2 – Right to Refuse Flowchart
This flowchart creates a graphical representation of the work refusal process and could be helpful to both servicing reps and locals in explaining the process to members and ensuring their expectations in the process are consistent with likely outcomes.
3 – How to Use Your Right to Refuse
This document is an attempt to put the work refusal process in plain language for members. This can be distributed to members who have questions on how the process works and what to expect from subsequent phases of the process.
I hope you find these resources helpful and I continue to be available for support and advise in individual cases.
In Solidarity,
Jenna Brookfield
Health and Safety Representative
CUPE Atlantic Regional Office
271 Brownlow Avenue
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
B3B 1W6
(902) 455-4180, ext. 229
(902) 455-5915 Fax
“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence” - Helen Keller