Carpenters' District Council of Ontario United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America 222 Rowntree Dairy Road, Woodbridge, ON L4L 9T2 t: 905 652-4140 f: 905 652-4139
Tony Iannuzzi, Executive Secretary Mike Yorke, Treasurer President
SPECIAL MESSAGE TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE CARPENTERS’ UNION:
ESSENTIAL WORKPLACES BUT SAFETY STILL COMES FIRST
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As you have probably heard, the Provincial Government has declared construction sites to be essential workplaces. The relevant sections of the List are:
Construction
26. Construction projects and services associated with the healthcare sector, including new facilities,expansions, renovations and conversion of spaces that could be repurposed for health care space;
27. Construction projects and services required to ensure safe and reliable operations of critical provincial infrastructure, including transit, transportation, energy and justice sectors beyond the day- to-day maintenance;
28. Construction work and services, including demolition services, in the industrial, commercial, institutional and residential sectors;
29. Construction work and services that supports health and safety environmental rehabilitation projects.
This means that construction sites can legally stay open but just because your site is legally allowed to keep working does not automatically mean it is safe for you to do so.
We are urging all of our members to continue to follow the guidance we gave you in our last Notice – Now More Than Ever Safety First. In particular, remember that:
ALL OF THE DIRECTIONS AND PROTOCOLS CONCERNING COVID-19 AND SOCIAL DISTANCING APPLY TO YOU, YOUR FELLOW WORKERS, YOUR EMPLOYERS AND YOUR JOBSITES.
Whether or not it is actually safe to work is going to vary from jobsite to jobsite. In this crisis there is only one clear rule which is – health and safety comes first but to avoid chaos in our industry we are asking you not to just walk off your jobsites and not go back. Instead, we are asking that, if you are being asked or required to work in conditions which you think may be unsafe, you do the following:
stop work;
get yourself to a safe place;
tell your immediate supervisor that you have stopped work for safety reasons;
PHONE YOUR UNION REPRESENTATIVE RIGHT AWAY (who will be able to give you further advice).
DON’T TAKE ANY CHANCES WITH YOUR HEALTH OR THAT OF YOUR FAMILY. YOU OWE IT TO YOURSELF AND TO YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS.