Workers Health & Safety Centre

The horrifying story of one worker shows preventing workplace violence needs more than policies. It demands comprehensive training, better staffing, security controls, stronger recognition of work hazards and enforceable laws. Our training can help - ow.ly/XTWQ50YVGaz

Disconnect in compensation and prevention of work mental stress needs resolution, says WHSC Executive Director Andrew Mudge. Workers deserve more than compensation. Hazards should not be allowed to persist. Root causes need to be tackled. ow.ly/H4hK50YOCn1

Violence/harassment, underreporting, weak responses & administrative reprisals are a few factors making schools hazardous. Stronger, enforceable and enforced laws, training and worker engagement can combat it. WHSC training can help too - more at ow.ly/fMOK50YNF3z

Andrew Mudge, WHSC's ED, shines a light on Ontario's rise in work-related mental stress and WSIB accepted claims -- more than 2x in last decade. Why are the they rising? And why are we not preventing harm in the first place? ow.ly/H4hK50YOCn1

The pursuit of healthier work continues long past Day of Mourning. This year WHSC joined worker advocates throughout Ontario and the world, in the call for mentally safe work. To learn more, check out this effective @ilo video and online resources. ow.ly/OAs350YQKz6

@Guelph_Labour @CanadianLabour Grace Goderre of CUPE Local 3913 carried a flag as part of the #DayOfMourning gathering.

@Guelph_Labour Janice Folk-Dawson, Vice-President of @Guelph_Labour, Kim Kent, @CanadianLabour Representative, and Nicole Clark, President of the Guelph & District Labour Council, helped mark the solemn occasion. #DayOfMourning

At @Guelph_Labour's #DayOfMourning event at Guelph City Hall, workers, unions, families, and community members gathered to remember those killed, injured, or made ill because of their work—and to continue the fight for safer workplaces.

@CanadianLabour @OFLabour's Ahmad Gaied reminds us that worker deaths are not accidents. They can be crime scenes. Thanks to worker advocacy, Toronto City Council passed a motion for mandatory police training on workplace death investigations under the Westray Law. #DayOfMourning

@CanadianLabour Yvonne Laurent from WHSC stresses the importance of psychological safety at #DayOfMourning in Cobourg. WSIB stress claims have more than doubled in the past decade. It’s time for more than compensation but assessment and control of workplace psychosocial hazards. #DayOfMourning

Across #DayOfMourning gatherings in Windsor, Oakville, St. Catharines and North Bay, speakers reminded us that every worker deserves to come home safe, every hazard must be taken seriously, and every loss must move us closer to prevention.

Despite the dreary weather, attendees gathered in Cobourg on #DayOfMourning. It seemed as if the weather knew that community members, union officials, and the public had gathered to remember friends, family, and colleagues who had been killed, injured, or made ill on the job.

Communities gathered for #DayOfMourning events in Barrie, Port Colborne, Fort Erie, Niagara Falls, and Port Robinson. These gatherings recognized the advocacy of workers, worker reps, unions, families, and allies who continue to push for stronger protections and real prevention.

@CanadianLabour's Heather Erlen spoke about the vigilance of the labour movement and the ongoing fight for safer workplaces, emphasizing that psychological safety is workplace safety, and that psychosocial hazards must be addressed. #DayOfMourning

Peel injured workers representative Catherine Fenech spoke about the need for a strong compensation system, including better recognition of invisible injuries, mental stress injuries, harassment-related harm, and the stigma injured workers continue to face. #DayOfMourning

On the National #DayOfMourning, workers, families, unions, and community members gathered at the Milestones of Labour Monument in Brampton for an event hosted by the Peel Regional Labour Council.