If you have an issue on your job that is serious and requires immediate attention then remember you have the "
Right to Refuse Unsafe Work". When exercising your Right, remember this:
- Inform the supervisor that you are Refusing to Work because it is unsafe,
- All argument should then stop,
- The supervisor should immediately get you a Safety Representative,
- If either of these do not happen, leave the situation and seek a Safety Rep. or Union Rep. IMMEDIATELY! Or you can call the Ministry of Labour at 1 - (877) - 202 - 0008,
- You should wait in a safe area.
- You, the Safety Rep. and the supervisor will investigate the details of the Work Refusal,
- The company will attempt to satisfy your concerns,
- If there is no resolution then the Ministry of Labour is to be called,
- Anyone can call the Ministry of Labour (Worker, Safety Rep. or supervisor)
- After the Ministry has been called;
- The worker can be reassigned to another job (not in a punitive manner),
- The company can assign someone else to perform the job after informing the worker - in the presence of the Safety Rep. - of the details of the Refusal
- (No one is obligated to perform a job that has been Refused, and the Inspector can fine anyone deemed to be working in an unsafe manner),
- The Inspector will investigate the details of the Work Refusal with the Worker, supervisor and Safety Rep.,
- The Inspector will render a decision whether the situation is "Likely to endanger" or "Not likely to endanger",
- If "Likely to endanger" then the Inspector is likely to write an order against the company to correct the situation before the job can be run,
- If "Not likely to endanger" then the worker will be expected to perform the job, but still has the right to appeal the decision later.
