Safety Reporter
Canadian
www.safety-reporter.com
February 2015
CPR worker fired
after alcohol test refusal
Arbitrator upholds company's decision
BY JEFFREY R. SMITH
AN ARBITRATOR HAS upheld
a railway conductor's termina-
tion for refusing to submit to an
alcohol test.
The employee was a conduc-
tor for Canadian Pacific Railway
(CPR), hired in 1999. On Dec. 24,
2013, the conductor worked on
an overnight train from Smiths
Falls, Ontario, to Montreal, ar-
riving in the morning. The crew
— consisting of the conductor
and an engineer — was sched-
uled to finish their assignment at
a hotel and head back to Smiths
Falls by taxi in the afternoon.
NEWS BRIEF
ALCOHOL > pg. 8
SOUTHERN RAILWAY LOCKOUT
CAUSES SAFETY CONCERNS
Changes to operations during
dispute should not affect
safety, says lawyer pg. 2
THE BEST CURE
FOR BREAST CANCER pg. 3
Where are the proceeds from
all this pink merchandise
really going? Experts say we
should focus on prevention.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
SPILLS INTO WORKPLACE
First-ever Canadian study on
workplace impact 'wake-up
call' pg. 5
INSIDE
ONE-THIRD OF WORKERS
SUFFER FROM MENTAL
HEALTH CONDITION: SURVEY
One in three Canadian employees
suffer or have suffered from a men-
tal health condition, according to a
survey by Morneau Shepell.
More than one-half (58 per
cent) said their productivity has
been negatively impacted by stress
at work, while 45 per cent said they
have thought about leaving their
job. Almost one-third of employees
have taken time off work because
of workplace stress and 25 per
cent have become ill in the last six
months due to stress.
Eighty-three per cent said stress
itself is not universally negative,
depending on how the workplace
supports and responds to workers.
Employees believe overwhelm-
ingly that a psychologically healthy
workplace is a productive one.
Only 56 per cent of employees
believe their organization supports
mental wellness on the job.
"The survey revealed some dis-
connects between employer and
employee perceptions on how
mental wellness is being handled
in the workplace," said Paula Al-
len, vice-president of research and
integrative solutions at Morneau
Shepell.
Credit:
auremar/Shutterstock
CAMH > pg. 4
Some workplaces, such as the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, pose 'very specific risks' unique to their field. Violent occurrences can be more likely
or more dangerous than the average office run-in.
BY SABRINA NANJI
THE FACT THAT violence is con-
sidered "just part of the job" for
staff at the Centre for Addiction
and Mental Health (CAMH) in
Toronto is part of the problem,
according to workplace safety
experts.
The hospital came into the
spotlight at the end of 2014 after
a registered nurse was beaten
and critically injured by a pa-
tient.
This happened days after the
Ministry of Labour laid four
charges under the Occupational
Health and Safety Act for another
assault by a patient directed to-
wards a nurse that occurred at
CAMH in January 2014.
The ministry found the cen-
tre failed to provide sufficient
information and supervision to
protect a worker from workplace
violence and failed to implement
Assaults at CAMH raise union ire
Nurses, other staff consider violence from patients 'just part of the job'
