As per MTS Bylaw 6.18, the Workplace Safety and Health Standing Committee has the following mandate:
The Workplace Safety and Health Committee shall address issues related to Member safety and health, Workplace Safety and Health member education, Workplace Safety and Health Committees, and Workplace Safety and Health emergent issues.
The WSHSC also operates in accordance with MTS Bylaw 10, which outlines MTS’s beliefs regarding Workplace Safety and Health for its members.
As per MTS Bylaws PART X – Workplace Safety and Health Committee
10.1 Statement of Beliefs
The Society believes that:
(a) the employer is responsible for providing a safe and healthy work environment for its Members in accordance with The Workplace Safety and Health Act and other relevant legislation and awards;
(b) all Local executives should appoint a representative whose responsibilities include workplace safety and health;
(c) each school should have a Workplace Safety and Health committee as defined by The Workplace Safety and Health Act and where a workplace has less than twenty (20) workers, the representatives should include a Member;
(d) any variances applied for by a division must first be approved by the Local before being submitted;
(e) Locals must review any variance agreement every three (3) years;
(f) the Local Workplace Safety and Health chair shall be a member of the division, Workplace Safety and Health Committee and attend all division Workplace Safety and Health meetings;
(g) a Member shall be a co-chair of each division or school Workplace Safety and Health committee;
(h) all cases of workplace violence, harassment, injury, accidents or verbal abuse as defined by The Workplace Safety and Health Act and regulations should be reported by the Member to the Member’s Local and to the employer and should be pursued by the Society, where necessary, subject to the approval of the Members involved;
(i) any Member who incurs an on-the-job injury, whether that condition is physical or psychological in nature, or contracts an infectious disease should not suffer any loss of benefit or salary; and
(j) Members should not drive either their own vehicles or divisionally owned or leased vehicles to transport students for school-related activities.
10.2 Workplace Safety and Health Training
The Society shall plan and organize Workplace Safety and Health training and education that meets the needs of local Workplace Safety and Health representatives, that complies with the rights provided under The Workplace Safety and Health Act, and such training and education will be delivered in locations throughout Manitoba as training and education needs warrant, and that all training be conducted during the school day.