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 Emergency_Child_Care_Health_and_Safety_Q_A_document_2020_04_03.pdf | 223.14 KB |
EXCERPTS
COVID-19: Protecting the Health and Safety of Workers in Emergency Childcare Centres
**Please note: Information contained herein is current as of April 2, 2020**
** This document is not intended to replace any training on protocols and procedures
that you are entitled to from your employer.**
Introduction
On March 22 the Ontario Government announced that childcare centres will re-open in a limited capacity throughout Ontario in order to provide emergency childcare for families of workers who are continuing to provide critical services during the pandemic. In response CUPE provided locals that represent childcare workers with a series of questions to ask employers to ensure that returning to work was a safe as possible for both workers and children.
This document is intended for ECEs and ECA’s in childcare centres and schools who may be asked to go back to work to provide emergency childcare for essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic to understand their rights in the workplace.
As outlined below, the pandemic of COVID-19 has not changed how we apply health and safety legislation in Ontario. The basic principles remain the same. Workers maintain the right to know, the right to participate, the right to refuse work where there is a danger to health and safety, and the right to be free from reprisal for exercising their rights under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Local Public Health Authority
Any childcare centre that is re-opening must work with the local or regional public health authority to establish health and safety protocols. These protocols should be shared with you prior to returning to work and proper training should be provided where required to adhere to the established health and safety protocols.
The health and safety protocols established by your employer and the local public health authority will represent the minimum standards that should be adhered to in your workplace. CUPE has provided locals with a guide to negotiating higher health and safety standards for emergency childcare centres.