The Employee and Labour Relations Committee elected Councillor McConnell as its Vice Chair for a term of office starting March 23, 2009 until November 30, 2010, and until a successor is appointed.

Election of  Vice-Chair

The Employee and Labour Relations Committee deferred this matter until April 2, 2009 for discussion and debate.

To provide the quarterly report of grievance and arbitration activity between October 1 to December 31, 2008, for information.

This report provides information on the status of the City’s health and safety system, specifically on activities, priorities and performance during the first three quarters of 2008.  There was a decrease of 13% in the number of lost time injuries relative to the same period in 2007.  There was also a decrease of 9.4% in recurrence injuries and a decrease of 1.3% in injuries where health care only was sought.  Information is provided where there have been significant changes in accident experience and costs within divisions, as well as specific actions being taken to improve health and safety performance.

 

New information about the Ministry of Labour’s Workplace Violence Prevention consultation is provided.    The Occupational Health and Safety Coordinating Committee (OHSCC) forwarded a letter to the Ministry, supporting the consultation and providing a copy of the City’s Workplace Violence Prevention Policy.  It is anticipated that the Ministry’s response to feedback from stakeholders during its consultation will inform future amendments, if any, to the City’s policy.

 

This report provides information on the status of the City’s health and safety system, specifically on activities, priorities and performance during 2008.  There was a 12.9% decrease in the number of lost time injuries (LTIs) relative to 2007. There was also a 6.7 % decrease in the number of recurrence injuries (REOs) and a 2.7% decrease in the number of medical aid injuries (MAs).  The City’s injury frequency decreased from 9.19 to 7.98 in 2008.

 

The City set a 20% target for reduction in lost time injuries for the period 2004 to 2008. A number of large City divisions achieved the 20% reduction target, or greater. These included Children’s Services, Fire Services, Solid Waste Management Services, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, Emergency Medical Services and Facilities and Real Estate. A number of smaller divisions with typically lower injury rates also achieved the 20% reduction target. The City overall achieved a 14.1% reduction in lost time injuries and a 33.3 % reduction in recurrence injuries

 

The Ministry of Labour continued to visit City workplaces in 2008. There was a significant reduction in the number of Ministry of Labour (MOL) orders issued to the City as a result of those visits relative to 2007:  36 orders in 2008 compared to 75 orders in 2007.

 

Although there was a reduction in the number of lost time injuries in 2008, the overall Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) costs increased significantly as a result of firefighter cancer claims approved retroactively under the WSIB’s presumptive legislation.  Omitting fire fighter cancer claims, there was a reduction in the cost of injuries for 2008 relative to 2007.

 

Progress was made on all three key health and safety priority programs in 2008: Musculoskeletal Disorder (MSD) Prevention Policy implementation, Occupational Health and Safety Continuous Improvement  Target Zero initiative, and Health and Safety Audit Phase 2. Additional information is provided in this report.

 

The focus of the Ministry of Labour (MOL) for 2008 was the implementation of the Safe at Work Ontario strategy, reducing MSDs and addressing workplace violence. This is consistent with the priorities established by the City over the last two years.

 

The Employee and Labour Relations Committee received the confidential presentation for information.

Presentation from the Executive Director, Human Resources Division

The purpose of this report is to provide the Employee and Labour Relations Committee with information regarding non-union compensation for employees in the Toronto Public Service at the City of Toronto.  This report also provides background information on the existing Council approved non-union compensation system and some key information regarding other compensation systems in the broader public sector.