In March, the Ministry of Labour released the guidance document Workplace Violence in School Boards: A Guide to the Law. This resource was developed in consultation with the Provincial Working Group on Health and Safety (PWGHS), a workgroup which evolved out of ETFO negotiations and the 2014 ETFO MOU Task Force on Health and Safety Report. ETFO was also active in the consultation on this guide, and active provincially and locally with ongoing lobbying efforts to pressure the government into taking these initial steps to address concerns about violence in schools.
This Guide will ensure everyone in the school system understands their existing rights and responsibilities under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the Education Act and other legislation. The Guide contains a roadmap for reporting requirements, templates for notifications of risk of physical injury, links to relevant Ministry of Education memos, the Local Police/School Board Protocol, the Privacy Commission guide, & etc.
The Guide can be viewed as an online document.
School boards will be implementing consolidated online reporting for violent incidents, updating their practices, and providing training this fall.
