Ottawa hoteliers met last week for their first meeting under Ontario's newest WSIB chapter.
The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) hospitality safety group program was given permanent status by its board of directors in July of 2002. Ottawa is the first city to sign up, eager to better deal with the safety issues affecting the hotel industry.
George Kairys, president of The Employer's Benefit Group in Toronto, spearheaded the initiative in Ottawa. With the help of the Ottawa Hoteliers de l'Outaouais, Kairys believes the participation rate will be strong. Ten hotel representatives showed up to the first meeting including The Westin Ottawa, Ottawa Marriott, Courtyard Marriott Ottawa, Fairmont Château Laurier, Albert at Bay Suite Hotel and the Delta Ottawa Hotel & Suites. With 12 hotels signed up so far, the deadline has been extended to Jan. 31.
Dick Brown, executive director of the Ottawa Hoteliers de l'Outaouais, was contacted by Kairys in late fall recommending to set up the Ottawa hotel chapter. "I thought it was a good idea to allow hotels to come together and take advantage of best practices that can be shared to try and make the workplace even safer than it is now."
According to Kairys, this chapter is for the management of health and safety programs. "The safety group is a structure and it's set up to facilitate pure sharing and pure training. Peer sharing is a very important element of this (initiative) and it makes it very cost-effective (for participants)," says Kairys.
Return-to-work issues and compliance issues are the top safety concerns in the hotel industry, he says. "Hospitality is very labour intensive. (Employees) in the housekeeping and laundry areas incur soft tissue injuries and repetitive strain injuries." Compliance matters fall under due diligence and includes policies, procedures and accident investigations.
An emerging safety issue in the hotel industry is security for employees against irate customers. "It's not only the airlines that face air rage ... but it hasn't come onto the official's radar yet because there haven't been any fatalities or serious injuries as a result," says Kairys.
The WSIB oversees Ontario's workplace safety education and training system, provides disability benefits, monitors the quality of health care and assists in early and safe return to work.
