*** French resources included within this lesson
Overview
This presentation was created with the intention of providing educators with a ready-made lesson to teach students some fundamental health and safety concepts. The lesson has three components:
- A PowerPoint presentation, to be delivered by the educator
- An Educator Guide, containing notes to support educators on the delivery of the lesson
- A Student Worksheet, containing activities that help students solidify their understanding of the lesson content
The main objectives of this lesson are:
- Learn about WorkSafeNB and what they do
- Understand the fundamental rights of workers
- Learn how to protect yourself at work
- Find out how to access available resources
Important Note for Educators: This presentation was created to provide an awareness of workplace health and safety to youth who are beginning a work placement or part-time employment. This presentation does not replace the new employee orientation and training that must be provided by employers under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
NB Curricular Connections
High School Block Learning Areas
Personal Wellness 9:
o Strand: Wellness – Big Idea: Helpful and Harmful Choices; Personal Safety
Career Connected Learning Cluster – Co-op 120; Goals, Growth and Grit 120
Essential Skills Achievement Pathway
Instructions
This section provides a breakdown of the slides/content contained in the PowerPoint Presentation, along with notes to help in the delivery of the presentation. Educators may choose to use these notes verbatim or, if they are familiar with the content, they may wish to use their own language. Where applicable, resources for further exploration of topics will be suggested.
For slides that contain an activity found on the Student Worksheet, guidance/possible answers will be provided.
- Scripts for slides will be denoted with a bullet point
[Notes directed at educators will be within square brackets]
PowerPoint Presentation
Slides 1-4: Intro Slides
(Title, disclaimer, outline, objectives)
[These slides explain what students can expect from the presentation and outline the learning objectives. Any tie-ins with course-specific outcomes can be mentioned here.]
Slides 5-48: Content Slides
5: What does WorkSafeNB do?
- WorkSafeNB has staff all over the province, filling a variety of different roles. The main goal is to prevent workplace injuries completely, but unfortunately, incidents do sometimes occur. Employers pay WorkSafeNB a certain rate (the amount depends on various factors) so that if one of their workers is injured, they can receive benefits while they recover. It’s a “no fault” insurance system – meaning even if the injury is your own fault, you’re still covered.
6: The Occupational Health and Safety Act
- Every province and territory in Canada has its own laws – or “legislation” – when it comes to workplace health and safety. In New Brunswick, this legislation is called the Occupational Health and Safety Act. No matter where you are in Canada, the law is based on the same main idea: that everyone at the workplace – workers, supervisors and employers – is responsible for their own safety and for the safety of others.
[Electronic versions of the Act and its regulations can be found here.]
7: Some Statistics
- These statistics aren’t meant to scare anyone; rather, they are to highlight how important it is for everyone to work together to make workplace injuries and deaths a thing of the past!
8: The three fundamental rights
- Just like every other worker in New Brunswick, young workers have rights as well. In the next few slides, you’ll learn about the fundamental rights of workers.
[More information on the three rights can be found here.]
9: Are you safe at work?
- Whether or not you already have work experience, it’s important to ask yourself three questions.
[A question will be used to introduce each of the three fundamental rights.]
10: Are you safe at work? (First question)
- Let’s take a look at the first question: How can I get hurt at work?
11: How can I get hurt at work?
- All workers have the right to know how to stay safe at work.
12-14: Right to know
[See here for more information on the responsibilities of employers, supervisors, and employees]
15: Right to know
- It’s important for you to know you could get hurt at work. This means being familiar with the hazards in your workplace. A hazard is anything that has the potential to cause you damage, harm or adverse health effects. There are seven hazard categories that you should be aware of:
[It is suggested to ask students if they can think of examples for each before providing them]
- Physical hazards: e.g., temperature, air quality, noise
- Chemicals: e.g., cleaning products, paint, pesticides
- Health: e.g., Viruses, bacteria, mould
- Ergonomic: e.g., Lifting, your position (such as sitting/standing) or repetitive motion
- Safety: e.g., machinery, slips, trips and falls, electricity
- Psychosocial: e.g., stress, violence, bullying/harassment
- Workplace: includes things unique to your own workplace such as working at heights, weather conditions, or driving
16-17: Activity 1 – Hazard Identification
[As a class, have students identify hazards in the photo of the mock workplace. Slide 17 shows some possible responses circled in red. From left to right, these include:
- A large bag of carrots is blocking the electrical panel
- There is a bottle of cleaning solution sitting on the food prep table
- The knife on the food prep table has its blade turned out into the path of the
- There is a puddle of water on the floor
- The worker is grabbing the pot of boiling water with bare hands
- The oven mitts are sitting directly on the stove top
See if students can identify more hazards other than the ones circled in red.]
18-20: Activity 1 extension (“Your turn…”)
[This activity allows for students to further practice their hazard identification by completing the hazard assessment table on their Student Worksheet. There is a photo of a mock workplace on slide 19 (also included on their worksheet). Have students work in pairs or small groups to identify 4 hazards, as well as what could happen for each hazard and how it could be controlled (corrected). Possible responses are shown in the table below, as well as on slide 20].
Hazard | What could happen? | How could it be corrected? |
Heavy items stored up high | Workers could injure themselves when trying to get heavy items down | Store heavy items on lower shelves |
Boxes stacked on top of one another | Boxes could topple over, and injure workers | Store boxes on shelving meant for storage |
Worker using plastic boxes for climbing | Worker could fall and injure himself | Provide step ladder for use when climbing is necessary |
Gas cylinder unsecured | Cylinder could tip over, risking explosion | Secure cylinder with cords or brackets |
Electrical panel blocked by clutter | No quick access to electrical panel, if needed | Clear clutter from in front of panel |
Unlabeled bottle on shelving unit | Exposure to chemicals without knowledge of related hazards could cause burns or illness | Clearly label contents of all bottles
|
Box protruding from shelf | Quick exit, if needed, would not be possible for workers | Store items on appropriately sized shelving |
Damp cardboard box on shelf | Mould could develop, putting workers’ health at risk | Discard box (and contents if necessary)
Protect storage boxes from damp conditions |
21: Remember… You have the right to know!
- All workers have the “right to know” all the information they need to know to be safe at work.
22: Are you safe at work?
- The second question we want to ask ourselves is: “Do I have a say in my workplace safety?”
23: Do I have a say in my workplace safety?
- All workers have the right to participate in their safety at work.
24: Right to participate
- We can all participate in making decisions about workplace safety, and in making the workplace safer for everyone.
There are some informal ways to participate which includes things like:
- Talking about safety;
- Expressing your concerns or asking questions about safety;
- Or making suggestions about safety.
25: Right to participate
- You can also participate in a more formal way:
- You could volunteer to serve on your workplace’s Joint Health and Safety Committee, which is a committee that works together to make the workplace a safer place, or;
- If your workplace isn’t required to have a Joint Health and Safety Committee, then you could serve as or assist the Health and Safety Representative
26-37: Right to participate (Group activity)
[These slides contain multiple choice questions aimed at teaching the concept of the “right to participate” in a way that challenges students to use any knowledge they may already have to answer the questions correctly. A question is presented on a slide with possible answers, with the following slide showing the correct response in orange. More information on Joint Health and Safety Committees can be found here.]
38-39: Activity 2 – Participation Practice
[Have students role play a conversation between a worker and a supervisor, in which the worker brings forward a health or safety concern. If necessary, remind students that respect and courtesy are always called for in workplace discussions. Students can record the dialogue on their worksheet for sharing with the class.]
40: Remember… You have the right to participate
- All workers have the “right to participate” in workplace safety decisions.
41: Are you safe at work? (Third question)
- The third and last question to ask yourself is: “When do I say ‘no’”?
42: When do I say “no”?
- Did you know that all workers have the right to refuse unsafe work?
43: Right to refuse
- Even though it’s a serious matter and not something that should be done lightly, you should never be afraid to exercise your right to refuse if you believe the work will endanger your health or safety, or that of others.
- Saying “no” can be hard to do, but it’s important for you to stand up for yourself when it comes to safety.
44: Right to refuse
- Here are some ways you can approach the conversation or express yourself to your supervisor….
45-46: Right to refuse
- Workers should consider exercising their right to refuse if they are ever assigned a task without being provided the necessary training, safety equipment, supervision, or support needed to safely perform the task.
47: Right to refuse
- It’s important to learn the three steps you need to follow for refusing unsafe work.
- The first step is to talk to your supervisor. If that resolves the issue, then you can get back to work. If not, then you can move on to the second step:
- Talk with a member of your joint health and safety committee, or if your workplace doesn’t have a committee then you can talk with your health and safety representative.
- If the issue is still not resolved, then you can call WorkSafeNB at 1-800-999-9775. You’ll need to explain your situation, and you’ll be asked whether you have followed the first two steps.
*Remember to stay at your workplace until the end of your regularly scheduled shift. You can perform other tasks that aren’t related to the work you are refusing.
[A printable pocket pamphlet on the right to refuse can be found here.]
48: Right to refuse
[Get students’ opinions on whether refusing unsafe work is worth the “hassle”. It’s important they understand that it’s worth the effort if it results in the prevention of injury or death.]
49: Activity 3 – Saying “No”
[Have students work in pairs to develop a guideline that would help a worker know when to refuse work. Examples are provided on the slide. Then have them design a poster to illustrate their guideline. Poster should be designed to communicate the point effectively.]
50: Remember… You have the right to refuse unsafe work!
- Don’t forget that this is one of your fundamental rights as a worker.
Slides 50-54: Summary Slides
51: Are you safe at work?
- Remember to ask yourself three questions:
- How can I get hurt at work? Remember, you have the right to know.
- Do I have a say in my workplace safety? Yes! You have the right to participate in safety decisions at work.
- When do I say “no”? You have the right to refuse work that you feel is unsafe. Remember to follow the three steps for refusing unsafe work.
52: Resources
[If time allows, show students the worksafenb.ca website, where they can find more information for young and new workers under the “Workers > Young and new workers” tab.
Students can also download WorkSafeNB’s Guide to OHS Legislation which provides them with a wealth of workplace health and safety information right on their mobile devices.]
53: If you have any questions or concerns…
[Let students know that they can always call anonymously if they have a question about workplace safety.]
Acknowledgements
Thank you for using this resource with your students. If you require further support in the delivery of this lesson, contact Jessica MacDonald, Health and Safety Consultant for WorkSafeNB: jessica.macdonald@ws-ts.nb.ca