Montreal CUPE Workers Must Pay $2 Million
The Quebec Superior Court has ruled that Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 301 City of Montreal workers must pay $2 million in damages surrounding an illegal strike that resulted in injuries to the public.
The strike, which took place during an ice storm in Montreal in December 2004, lasted one week. During that time, no salt or sand was spread on city walkways, creating perilous conditions for pedestrians.
Sixty Montreal residents initiated a class action lawsuit for injuries or other damages they suffered as a result of the untended streets and sidewalks. Justice Danielle Grenier criticized the workers for their “reprehensible behavior” which showed a complete lack of concern for public safety.
Grenier also blamed the city for its timing in introducing a new dispatch system to which many workers were strongly opposed.
Info to go: Read more about winter slip and fall hazards by clicking on the Info to Go safety links at www.SafeSupervisor.com
Read MoreToronto Rehab Researching Winter Slips and Falls
Although it’s not yet winter, a researcher at the Toronto Rehabilitation Centre has been spending considerable time indoors in the centre’s Controlled Climate Performance Lab studying how winter footwear fares in preventing slips and falls.
Jennifer Hsu, a PhD candidate in biomechanical and mechanical engineering has been using the lab to determine how well winter footwear deals with a variety of winter walking surfaces.
Hsu has been looking at what can be done to help postal workers, who are particularly at risk for slipping and falling on slippery surfaces, walk more safely in winter. Her task is challenging, because postal workers walk across a variety of different surfaces, such as concrete, ceramic tiles, ice and snow.
Hsu is examining the most effect forms of protective footwear against winter slips and falls on inclines and transitions, along with how winter footwear can be improved to increase traction on all kinds of walking surfaces.
Fall-related injuries are estimated to cost the Canadian healthcare system $2.8 billion every year. In Ontario alone, 21,000 people visited a hospital emergency department after falling on ice or snow during winter 2004/2005.
Info to go: Read more about slips and falls by clicking on the Info to Go safety links at www.SafeSupervisor.com
Read MoreHeat Illness Can Kill
Editor’s note: Share this timely safety talk with your workers.
What’s At Stake
Working in excessively hot conditions can be difficult – and even fatal. Heat can create a number of safety problems and illnesses, including heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke. These illnesses caused by too much heat are called hyperthermia.
Heat can also cause you to become inattentive, short-tempered, dizzy and slow. All of these conditions can cause you to work in an unsafe manner.
What’s The Danger
Heat cramps affect muscles such as those in the arms, legs and abdomen – the muscles which have been used while working. Heat cramps are a signal that the body has lost too much salt through sweating.
Heat exhaustion may have these symptoms: A feeling of exhaustion, nausea, dizziness, pale and clammy skin, quick pulse and low blood pressure. Heat exhaustion is also a warning that the mechanism which controls heat for the body has become seriously overtaxed. Heat stroke may follow if heat exhaustion is not treated.
Heat stroke is a serious matter and it can be fatal. It occurs when the body’s heat control mechanism simply shuts down. Perspiration stops and the body temperature rises. The heart pounds and the skin becomes flushed and hot. This condition is a medical emergency and must be treated immediately.
Example
Hot conditions can be caused by the weather or by the work situation itself, such as a laundry room or a foundry. When the atmosphere is humid, the effects of the heat are compounded.
How To Protect Yourself
- Get used to working in the heat gradually.
- Drink water or fluid replacement drinks often to avoid dehydration. Do not drink alcoholic beverages or caffeinated beverages because they will cause you to lose even more water and salt.
- Take frequent rest breaks when working in hot conditions. These breaks can consist of moving to a cooler area or switching to lighter work for awhile.
- Dress lightly, in layers so that you can subtract or add clothing as the temperature changes.
Final Word
It is important that you remain alert to the signs of heat illness in yourself and in your co-workers. If signs of heat illness develop, move the victim to a cool place and cool him off by fanning or soaking him with cool water. If he is conscious, give him water to drink. If you have any reason to suspect that the person may be suffering from heat stroke, call for medical help immediately.
Transit Supervisor Electrocuted in Queens, NY
James Knell, 45, had been a New York City Transit supervisor for nine of the 13 years he worked for the company. Experience was something he had plenty of. But experience couldn’t save him when a tragic incident occurred on the same tracks he had worked on for more than a decade.
A devoted step-father to 10-year-old twins, Jillian and Hunter, and a loving husband to his wife, Jackie, Knell offered to work the early morning shift for a co-worker.
After the power had been restored to the tracks, Knell noticed a bucket of spikes that had been left on the tracks. To avoid an accident with the trains or possible injuries to pedestrians below, Knell walked along the concrete walkway to retrieve the bucket.
The rain had soaked the walkway, causing Knell to slip and fall on the activated third rail of the track. He died instantly.
“There’s inherent danger to the job,” track worker Tim Rende said. “What he was doing that morning was something he had done a thousand times before without getting hurt.”
NYC Transit regulations prohibit workers from being near the electrified third rail in wet conditions. Knell had gone back down to the tracks after power to the third rail had been restored for a test train.
Read MorePick 6
Odds of winning the lottery: 1 in 135,145,920 (multi-state, mega-millions lottery)
Lifetime odds of dying from exposure to excessive natural heat: 1 in 6,174 (National Safety Council)
1. Are you drinking enough water? Checking the color of your urine is 1 easy way to tell. Clear urine means you are well hydrated. Dark or cloudy urine means you are dehydrated.
2: A working adult can sweat up to 2 quarts (1.9 liters) per hour in hot conditions. (Brigham Young University)
36: Summer heat illness is a concern in most areas of Canada, even in Yukon, where the temperature hit a record 36.1 C (97 F) in 1969.
8: While working in hot weather, you should drink at least eight ounces (250 ml) of water every 20 minutes.
47: In 2005 throughout the US, 47 people working outdoors died as a result of exposure to environmental heat (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
98: Normal body temperature is 98.6 degrees F (37 C).
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