hazard

AU’s COVID protocols may not comply with OHS Act

On March 19, 2022, AU’s COVID-19 Planning Committee announced changes to the university’s COVID protocols. While most staff are required to continue to work from home, staff who permitted to be on campus are now no longer required to wear masks.  

A number of AUFA members questioned the logic of this change. Essentially, how can COVID be both dangerous enough to warrant working from home and not dangerous enough to require mandatory masking when on campus?

This blog post outlines AUFA’s investigation to date, sets out our assessment of whether this policy change is compliant with the province’s Occupational Health and Safety Act, and asks members how they would like AUFA to proceed.

Background

By late 2021, AU’s COVID-19 protocol required almost all staff to work from home. If staff needed to be on campus, they would require special permission to do so, to be vaccinated and to wear a mask while on site. 

In March 2022, with no consultation with AU’s unions or the Joint Health and Safety Committee, AU’s COVID committee eliminated mandatory masking. The elimination of mandatory masking was a surprising change, given that COVID-19 is primarily spread through the air, via both droplets and aerosols. 

Under Alberta’s OHS legislation, AU is required to conduct an assessment of the hazard posed by COVID in the workplace, as well as institute controls to eliminate or otherwise reduce the risk posed by COVID to staff members. You can review AU’s most recent COVID hazard assessment here.

AU General Hazard Assessment COVID-19 AU Main Feb. 2022.pdf

AU’s COVID Control Strategy

AU has implemented a series of controls designed to reduce the risk of workplace infection among staff. As noted above, the primary control being used is directing staff to work from home. This control eliminates work-related exposure to COVID for those who work from home.

This control does not protect staff members who must regularly or occasionally work on campus. The OHS Act and Code requires AU to implement additional controls to protect these staff members. AU’s on-campus controls presently include:

Vaccination: AU’s Vaccination Policy and Procedure requires workers prove they have received two doses of an approved vaccine to be onsite. The logic here is that a vaccinated worker is less likely to have COVID (and thus less likely bring it into the workplace) and is less likely to contract COVID during a workplace exposure. 

Vaccination does not, however fully control the risk of COVID for those working onsite. The emerging evidence is that two doses of vaccine is not effective at preventing COVID inflection. Further, the effectiveness of vaccination appears to wane over time and AU does not require staff to have a booster shot. Essentially, vaccinated staff can still have, transmit, and acquire COVID in the workplace. This suggests the effectiveness of AU’s vaccination control is moderate and declining over time.

Cleaning: AU has implemented enhanced cleaning protocols in the workplace. This control is intended to remove the virus from surfaces and thus prevent surface transmission of the virus. Cleaning does not control the risk of droplet or aerosol transmission.

Social Distancing: AU recommends staff maintain a distance of six feet from one another in the workplace. Distancing reduces the risk of droplet transmission but does not control spread through aerosols. Aerosols can stay in the air for hours and spread throughout a workspace.

Symptom Exclusion: AU requires staff members who are exhibiting symptoms consistent with COVID to stay out of the workplace. Workplace exclusion is intended to reduce staff exposure to the virus. This control is of limited effectiveness because some COVID positive workers do not exhibit symptoms at all. COVID is also contagious prior to someone exhibiting symptoms. 

Analysis

To summarize, AU’s present control strategies and their effectiveness for workers who work on-site are as follows:

  • Working from home: Not applicable.

  • Vaccination: Moderate and diminishing

  • Cleaning: Low

  • Social Distancing: Low

  • Symptom Exclusion: Low

An effective control for staff who work onsite is wearing a mask. Wearing a mask dramatically reduces transmission of the virus. 

Section 3(1) of the OHS Act requires “Every employer shall ensure, as far as it is reasonably practicable for the employer to do so, (a) the health, safety and welfare of (i) workers engaged in the work of that employer”. 

Mandatory masking in the workplace is a control that is reasonably practicable for AU to implement, entailing little cost and having little to no operational impact. 

In May, AUFA provided this analysis of the effectiveness of AU’s March 2022 COVID protocols to AU’s COVID Planning Committee and asked the committee to reinstitute mandatory masking. The committee declined this request:

The COVID-19 Planning Committee met to review yours and AUFA’s concerns and to discuss AU’s COVID-19 progress forward.  The committee identified that throughout COVID-19 it is has always remained cautious toward the lessening of COVID-19 restrictions and therefore did not take the removal of it’s [sic] masking protocols lightly.  The committee appreciates AUFA’s concern on this matter but continues to feel that the controls remaining in place were adequate to control the COVID-19 hazard for those working on site.  

Moving forward, the committee will be continuing to recommend adjustment of AU’s controls based on continued assessment of the hazard and with continued guidance from Government Agencies as well as other resources as it works toward reopening its place-based work sites.

Next steps

AUFA’s OHS representatives are seeking member input about how to proceed with this issue. Essentially there are two options:

  1. Take no action: AUFA can decide not to pursue this matter any further. This means that staff members who regularly or periodically work onsite will experience an increased risk of contracting COVID. These staff members can, in part, reduce this risk by choosing to wear a mask.

  2. File an OHS complaint: AU’s unwillingness to require mandatory masking appears to violate AU’s obligations to take all reasonably practicable steps to control the hazard posed by COVID 19 for AU employees who must be onsite.

The anonymous survey below gives you the opportunity to provide direction to AUFA’s OHS representatives.


Rhiannon Rutherford and Bob Barnetson

AUFA OHS Representatives

Your Turn


OHS Committee Conducts Inspection of ARC Building

The Athabasca Joint Worksite Health and Safety Committee met in Athabasca two weeks ago. One of the duties of the OHS committee is to inspect the worksite on a quarterly basis to identify hazards and recommend ways to eliminate or control the hazards.

The committee took the opportunity to inspect the ARC building. The committee was joined by staff from facilities who offered useful advice and commentary. By the end of the inspection,  seven hazards were identified as having the potential to cause injury.

Ergonomics

Several staff identified concerns about their current desk and chair arrangements. These staff were directed to fill out an ergonomic assessment request form (see below for link).

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Electrical

A power bar located immediately beside a kettle was moved to prevent a short circuit. An assessment of the electrical load on that circuit will take place.

Working alone

Two spaces where staff frequently work alone were identified. Working alone means help may unavailable in the event of an injury or medical episode. An immediate administrative control was implemented. Discussion of an engineering control will take place at the November OHS committee meeting.

Bad Smell

Several staff identified a recurring sewer-like smell, possibly resulting from the traps in bathroom floor drains drying out. Discussion about how to prevent the reoccurrence of this issue will take place at the November OHS committee meeting

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Blocked Passageways

Approximately five offices had very narrow exits due to the position of furnishing or other materials. These narrow exits could create tripping hazards and/or interfere with emergency exit from the building. Additional research into the required width of exit passageways was required and the issue will be addressed at the November OHS committee meeting.

Debris blocking the west loading dock exit of the ARC building was flagged and cleaned up by facilities. This debris included mixed hazardous substances.

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 Tripping hazards

Several tripping hazards were identified as requiring remedy. Ironically, many were anti-fatigue mats stored such that they interfered with walkways.

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Bookshelves

Approximately 30 seven-foot bookshelves were identified as tippy and creating the potential for a crushing hazard. Other shelves had items stored on top, making the shelves even more tippy. The construction of the ARC building may preclude the effective use of straps or brackets, suggesting lower or more stable shelves may be required.

These hazards and potential control strategies will be discussed at the November meeting of the joint committee. Additionally, the committee will discuss concern about the locking of the inner gym door in the main building after hours and improvements to AU’s OHS training materials for new staff.

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Additional inspections of the rest of the campus will take place over the next few months.

If you have a concern about a workplace hazard or need to report a near miss or injury, you can fill out the required form here.

You can also contact the union representatives on the Athabasca OHS committee:

AUPE: Dan Schiff and Leona Fox

AUFA: Rhiannon Rutherford and Bob Barnetson

CUPE: Evelyn Chernyk and Glynnis Lieb

If you wish to request an ergonomic assessment, you can fill out the required form here.

Rhiannon Rutherford and Bob Barnetson

AUFA Worksite Health and Safety Committee Members, Athabasca