5 essential facts about workplace safety

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Original image  by Andrey_Popov.  © Used by permission

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  1. Every worker has the right to a healthy and safe workplace

    The Workplace Safety and Health Act is enforced in Manitoba to uphold this right. Every worker is entitled to:

    • Know what hazards are in the workplace and what precautions must be taken to avoid injuries from those hazards
    • Participate in safety and health activities in the workplace
    • Refuse work that you reasonably believe to be dangerous to yourself or others
    • Protection from discriminatory action for exercising your rights

    Watch Safe Work Manitoba’s video on Safety Rights and Responsibilities (you can see the Tagalog and French versions at the Safe Work Manitoba Youtube page):

  2. Workplace safety is everyone’s responsibility

    This means you have to follow safety standards and procedures at work and cooperate with any program that promotes it. You should also report unsafe work practices to Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) client service offices to prevent untoward incidents.

  3. If you get injured at work, you must seek medical help and report it to your employer

    You would need to file a claim to the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba (WCB) to get assistance if you need time off from work. For this, you will need to fill out a Worker Incident Report.

  4. WCB has translation services

    When reporting your injury, you can choose a WCB representative that speaks your language so you could better relate your situation.

  5. Workplace Safety and Health and SAFE Work Manitoba and the Workers Compensation Board work to promote workplace safety

    There are various resources from the SAFE Manitoba site that you can use to help you and your team understand the importance of health and safety programs at work. These agencies partner to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses through promotion, protection and education.


Watch this video-lecture on workplace safety and health by Jose Chinchilla from Entry Program to learn why following safety rules at work is essential:

 
Article updated February 12, 2021.

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Community Resources

Learn about Industry-Specific COVID-19 Information from Safe Work Manitoba.

The Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba has updated the Toolkit for new Manitobans. The toolkit aims to help teach newcomers about their workplace safety and health and workers compensation rights and responsibilities.

Safemanitoba.com has many multi-language resources about workplace safety. They are available in 18 languages. At the bottom of the homepage, click on your language to find these resources.

Learn more about the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS). Go to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety. You can also download the WHMIS guide for your reference.

You can watch more SAFE Manitoba videos on health and safety procedures in your workplace at the SAFE Work YouTube channel.

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