Occupational Health & Safety Committees and Representatives

Occupational Health & Safety Committees (OHSC) are required for any workplace with 10 or more employees. Some workplaces with between 5-9 workers are required to appoint an Occupational Health & Safety Representative (OHSR).

An OHSC must have at least 2 members and not more than 12 members. Half of the members of the committee must be workers not connected to management.

Members of an OHSC and a OHSR are either elected by the employees or appointed by a union, if there is one.

Employers are required to post the names of members of an OHSC or the name of the OHSR.

Committees and Representatives work with employers and workers to help create a healthy and safe work environment.

The duties of Committees and Representatives include:

• Helping employers identify and control health and safety hazards in the workplace.
• Talking with workers about health and safety concerns and helping resolve their concerns.
• Receiving and distributing information to workers about health and safety.

Employers must make sure that committee members or representatives have a reasonable opportunity to:

• inform workers about their rights
• receive and investigate concerns during regular working hours

The committee or representative must be provided time to do the above during regular working hours and without loss of pay or other benefits.

If the employer does not resolve a health and safety issue raised by a committee or representative they must provide the committee or representative with written reasons for not doing so. After this the employer, the committee, any member of the committee or the representative can refer the matter to an Occupational Health Officer.