Health, Safety and Industrial Relations Training Fund
New technology, conflicts in the workplace, shiftwork, stress, retirement planning – workers need extra support and training to deal with a host of issues that arise in today’s everchanging work environment. Through the Health, Safety and Industrial Relations Training Fund (HSIRTF), CEP delivers that support.
CEP set up the fund during collective bargaining in 1988. Today, membership in the HSIRTF has grown to include more than 80 CEP bargaining units and approximately 40 employers. That means about 10,000 members benefit from a top-notch education program and leading-edge research on health, safety, environmental and industrial relations issues, as well as timely conferences on relevant topics, a regular publication and a wealth of website information.
For more information about the Fund, contact:
Walter Manning, Director, HSIRTF (wmanning@cep.ca) at the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, 301 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa, Ontario, K1P 6M6. Phone:(613) 230-5800, ext. 250, Fax: (613) 230-5801
Joel Carr, National Director, Health, Safety and Environment - Health and Safety Coordinator, HSIRTF (jcarr@cep.ca) (613) 230-5800, ext. 253.
COURSES PROVIDE TOOLS
The HSIRTF relies on feedback from members to design training that responds to their needs. This includes courses on accident investigation, safety systems, consensusdecision making, public speaking, pre-retirement planning, time management, facilitated dialogue, innovative labour/management initiatives and computer skills,to name a few. Every year hundreds of local union members and management benefitfrom this training.
Independent specialists are often brought into conduct workshops on specific issues, like Jon Shearer on shiftwork stress and Tom Rankin on relationship building. On occasion, respected institutions, such as the Conference Board of Canada, conduct seminars specifically designed for the HSIRTF.
The HSIRTF does not duplicate existing CEP courses such as basic safety training (an employer responsibility under law) or steward training (an ongoing National Union responsibility). Seminars are offered in major cities where the fund has members.
Articles on topics related to workplace health and safety, and the environment
CONFERENCES PROVIDE FORESIGHT
Conferences, normally held every two years, examine emerging trends or potential problems facing the industry. Participants from across the country get together to hear expert analysis, share experiences, and participate in workshops in an attempt to focus objectives and find co-operative solutions. A conference on the aging workforce, for example, exposed the urgent need for apprenticeship programs to fill declining human resources in many fields. Another conference explored the need for strategic solutions to the globalization of the energy industry and its impact on workers.
UP-TO-DATE, RELIABLE RESOURCES
HSIRTF staff are constantly updating a comprehensive electronic data base of information on workplace health, safety and environmental issues. Research papers, briefs and submissions, opinion pieces and other resources can be found at www.cep.ca under the HSIRTF section. Articles in the fund’s flagship publication, “The Guardian”, are often reproduced in CEP Local and other union publications. The newsletter has an extended readership, including academics, politicians and the media.
HOW IT WORKS
Each employer contributes three cents per hour per member to the National Union which keeps the money in a separate fund. The HSIRTF is administered by the CEP President, the CEP Secretary-Treasurer and four Rank and File members from participating bargaining units.
Two full-time staff work for the fund out of the union’s national office. Audited financial statements are provided annually to all participating companies and to CEP Locals.
More than 80 CEP bargaining units and approximately 40 companies from all regions of Canada are members of the Health, Safety and Industrial Training Fund.
WANT TO KNOW MORE? WANT TO JOIN?
If you are interested in joining the Health, Safety and Industrial Relations Training Fund, you don’t have to wait for collective bargaining to begin. We'll help set up an initial discussion about the program among interested parties.
