MAHCP advocates for our members’ safety & well-being in their healthcare facilities and workplaces. Navigate through the timeline to see how far we’ve come.
JANUARY
MAHCP Labour Relations Officers request information from healthcare facilities and programs about existing WS&H programs and committees. Many programs and employee groups are still without established committees, including all Emergency Medical Services. This isn’t just poor practice and a lack of commitment to employee and patient safety. This contravenes Manitoba’s Workplace Safety & Health Act.
JUNE
As new WS&H committees are formed or existing committees announce employee representative vacancies, MAHCP Labour Relations Officers begin to put out Expressions of Interest to our members to encourage allied health professionals to step forward and join these important committees.
SEPTEMBER
MAHCP begins the work necessary to form the Psychological Safety & Health Committee bargained out of the last Central Table Collective Agreement. The steering committee develops Terms of Reference and determines the structure and selection process for its membership.
DECEMBER
MAHCP files Reports of Unsafe Work with Manitoba’s Workplace Safety & Health Branch stemming from multiple reports of unsafe work conditions throughout the province, from dangerous situations of working alone to inadequate safety training for supervisors.
APRIL
In an effort to push Shared Health to assemble appropriate WS&H committees for our 800+ Emergency Medical Services members, MAHCP puts out an Expression of Interest form to EMS in rural and Northern regions/zones and on specialized teams.
JULY
Following a series of highly publicized, violent attacks occurring at and around the HSC campus and the facility’s grey-listing by the Manitoba Nurses Union, HSC’s Safety & Health Committee calls on Shared Health to take immediate action at the site by implementing of a series of 18 recommendations. Two MAHCP members are on the HSC committee.
MAHCP President Jason Linklater and Executive Director Keely Richmond join the Joint HSC Safety & Security Committee formed to advance HSC safety priorities. This committee is made up of Manitoba’s new Deputy Minister of Health, HSC’s Chief Executive Officer, members of the Winnipeg Police Service, union leadership, and others. Curiously, Manitoba’s Workplace Safety & Health branch does not have a member on the committee.
SEPTEMBER
MAHCP sends formal notice of HSC’s violations under the Workplace Safety & Health Act to Shared Health’s Interim President & Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Chris Christodoulou, copying the Minister of Labour and Immigration, and the Minister of Health, Seniors, and Long-term Care. This letter is MAHCP’s first step in a policy grievance we’ve filed in response to Shared Health’s negligence in complying with the Act.
As Manitoba’s largest employer of laboratory and diagnostic services, Emergency Response Services, and allied health care professionals in hospitals, labs, clinics, community, and long-term care, Shared Health is responsible for the safety of 18,000 employees, as well as patients. MAHCP assets that Shared Health is neglecting its duties under the Act and failing to support proper safety for employees and patients, not just at HSC, but in healthcare facilities across the province.
OCTOBER
MAHCP receives a written response to our September letter from Shared Health.
NOVEMBER
MAHCP appoints Labour Relations Officer and MASH chair, Cory Szczepanski, into the role of Safety & Health Specialist to provide dedicated safety & health support to MAHCP members. In this role, Cory is responsible for increasing awareness of rights to safety, and will coach employee members of committees on duties and responsibilities. He will advocate with employers, government, and the WS&H branch for solutions to widespread safety & health concerns and violations in the healthcare sector.
MAHCP alerts the Workplace Safety & Health branch that we have begun legal action to compel WSH to enforce the Act against Shared Health Manitoba (Shared Health).
FEBRUARY
Due to healthcare employers’ continued failure to ensure staff safety, and the Manitoba Government’s failure to enforce the Workplace Safety and Health Act, MAHCP files an application to the Court of King’s Bench to compel government to enforce the Act through the Workplace Safety & Health Branch, and thereby force employers to fulfill their statutory responsibilities to protect workers.
MARCH
MAHCP rolls out Safety in Solidarity, a monthly e-newsletter for members highlighting safety tips and educational themes.