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"Everyone has the right to a safe workplace and that includes the men and women who work in our correctional centres.” - Component Chairperson, Dean Purdy.
Vancouver (10 Oct. 2012) - At a meeting in June, the B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU/NUPGE) representatives and members from the Component 1 Executive met with senior Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) representatives. At that meeting the union renewed its call for the WCB to take meaningful steps to address the ongoing incidents of violence against correctional officers in provincial facilities.
These efforts have paid off.
In the next few weeks the WCB will begin inspections of all provincial correctional facilities. These in-depth inspections will be conducted by a specially trained group of WCB officers, last two to three days per facility and include interviews with correctional officers. The inspectors will be looking for verification of occupational health and safety (OH&S) activities at each workplace and there will be a focus on violence in the workplace.
The inspections will begin in the lower mainland and then roll out to other facilities in the province. Importantly, the WCB safety officers will write orders if they identify health and safety violations.
“This is an important step in the right direction,” says Component 1 Chair Dean Purdy. “We have emphasized the importance of moving forward quickly with the enforcement strategy. Everyone has the right to a safe workplace and that includes the men and women who work in our correctional centres.”
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The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE