I’m not talking about anything that fancy; just a furniture dolly – a giant skateboard, costs maybe $25.
Thanks for the advice. I’m going to get in touch with the WSIB and see what kind of help they can give…
Some advice here is correct, but not in the required sequence to bring about a satisfactory resolution.
First, you must complain in writing about the task you are required to undertake, if possible citing accepted good practice, any relevant legislation (in the UK it would the the Health and safety at work act and also the Manual Handling Regulations).
In this letter, you must detail the specifics of the task, and if possible you should also include any injuries or close calls you have had, it would be useful to talk to other staff and find out how they cope.
Also include a possible solution to the problem and any approximate cost.
State that you are not willing to carry out this task under the present conditions.
Depending upon the number of employees, it is likely that there is some legal requirement to have a person there who is competant at assessing these risks, and there wil be someone directly responsible for safety, who has been clearly designated as such, find out who they are.
It’s possible that this is the same person as the one instrcuting you to carry out this task, but you would be better to establish who is the responsible person in writing first.
Next you need then to require some form of assessment of the task, this has to be carried out by a person who is competant to do so, not merely some manager without any health and safety training and qualifications, it just will not do.
Do this in writing.
You also must request a written reply before carrying out the task again, better still ask for instructions in writing telling you to do this work.
If the company you work for has some form of accident recording, it would be a very good idea to inspect it, see of there have been any incidents in the past with manual handling, again, talk to other employees, how did they injure themselves, what was done about it to prevent further ocurrance.
This procedure will make them take you seriously, if the company has a safety policy you might well find referance to manual handling tasks in there, this could actually be your most useful ally.
If the company has some sort of grievance procedure then you should activate it only after you have done the previous, the usual practice is to make informal approaches to line managers first as most difficulties can be sorted out at the lowest level.
The reason I have gone into this seemingly cumbersone procedure is that tomorrow you could try lift and you could seriously injure yourself and may need to sue.
You need to build up a picture for outside enforcement agencies to see, you need to demonstrate that you have been reasonable in your request, that you have done everything within your remit and within the companies own working methods.
It’s possible that you might make an enemy, which should not bother you one jot, but again when you come to sue for wrongful dismissal you need to show your reasonableness, written evidence will help enormously.
I worked at Leeds General Infirmary, where a nurse requested a hoist to lift elderly and mobility challenged people into and out of the bath. She was told that the hoist would be too expensive, she ended up in a wheelchair herself, sued and won £240k in damages, but that is not really much compensation for never being able to walk unaided again.
There is every chance you will not recieve written replies, try to insist, lets see what you come up with, because this is absolutely certain, your employer is completely wrong on so many differant counts its embarrassing.
Get back to us and tell us what happens.
Email me if necessary, and I’ll try find the approved code of practice for you -
PS Health and Safety is what I do.
Try here, send them an email once you have gathered the relevant information including a description of the task you are being required to undertake
This PDF Guide from Ontario says, in part:
“You have the right to refuse unsafe work. If you believe the work you do or the equipment you use is not safe, you can refuse to do that work until the situation is fixed. No one can suspend you, fire you or dock your pay. But you must tell your supervisor right away of your concerns.”
“You have a responsibility to report unsafe conditions. If you see anything that looks wrong, tell your supervisor immediately. Don’t wait until somebody gets hurt.”
“If you have safety issues, try to resolve them with your employer first. Contact your adjudicator (WSIB) if you need help. Your adjudicator can connect you with a health
and safety representative or a Ministry of Labour health and safety inspector.”
“Your employer has a responsibility to provide information and education about health and safety, and take reasonable steps to protect you.”
The WSIB is governed by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act of Ontario.
What University do you work for? Or is it the University Bookstore?
The reason I ask is that typically Universities have rather strict rules governing what they are and are not allowed to do - many of them extend these rules to outside entities operating on University property. Suffice it to say, you could probably get your boss in a heap of trouble, if you were so inclined.
Additionally, I would perhaps place a descrete call to WCB to inquire about their opinion on the matter.
Being forced to do work that you wern’t hired for, putting yourself at serious risk, and being threatened by job loss if you complain isn’t allowed anywhere in Canada, as far as I’m aware, and particularly not at a University.
How do these 100-200 pound shipment arrive at your store in the first place?
Did the delivery truck have 2 guys to unload them?
Did they have a powered lift gate?
Did they use a wheeled hand truck?
Then your employer ought to provide something similar for you to move these boxes. Point this out to them.
But it sounds that your boss is too much an a–hole to listen. I’d be quietly looking for a new job. You don’t want to be working for people like that.
Yes, and there is more to handling weight than keeping your back straight.
A) You are doing your employer a favor in improving workplace conditions and preventing injury.
B) You’re not the one to design the solution (“I’ll just buy a weight belt”). There needs to be professional input to get it right. For instance, my ex-boss listened to the fair-haired boy’s idea that a safe-mover was what to get (moves up to 450 lbs, 4-inch-diameter steel wheels, weight 20 lbs, flat bed 14x5 inches–the bed being the part that goes under the safe) which was simply inappropriate for what we needed (6-inch rubber wheels, moves up to 200 lbs, stair-skidders on the back for moving the equipt up or down stairs, weight 10 lbs, bed 14x14 inches in order to hold the dang equipment! which did not consist of steel cubes; I used the laptop as a base to put the other equipment on top of…hey it worked).
C) Glad to hear you’re working with WSIB, they sound appropriate. I urge you to start tomorrow morning, and get it in train.
D) The idea of them making you feel silly!
E) And if they get around the rules and trash your job, well you’re near the edge as it is, would you prefer to be looking for another job, or to be disabled and looking for another job?
PS, in the USA, the rule is that the employer make “reasonable accomodation” to the employee who is in a protected category (age, religion, health, etc) and that includes normal equipment, which for a $80 item with a life expectancy of 8 years is eighty-three cents a month, which I hope they can afford. And I bet they can figure out how to store it, too.
The receiving building is close by. They usually drive it over on a forklift and dump it off at my door on a skid. Sometimes if they have a few extra minutes, whoever drops it off will help me move it, but often they are too busy and I have to take care of it myself.
Oh yes, my boss and his boss (the services director) are not very understanding.
I told the director once that whenever I couldn’t get help lifting things from the receiving people, I would like to call one of the big guys from her dept. to come give me a hand. Her answer was, “Well, AFG, everyone can’t jump when you ask them to”. :eek:
When I called my boss once to ask for help lifting a roll of canvas onto the wall bracket, he said, “Why can’t you do it yourself?” :eek: :mad:
Anyway, I’m going to look into what WSIB can do, as my superiors have proved themselves unreasonable.