Regulations in Manitoba are clear. Education and enforcement is the issue.

I have been a member of the Health and Safety industry for the past few years. The current Manitoba legislation and specific regulations are very clear. The problem is a lack of education around all 44 Parts of the regulations and a lack of enforcement of the same. For organizations that do not comply, there appear to be minimal consequences. Non-compliance appears to be commonplace across Manitoba, particularly for Part 9 about Working Alone or in Isolation.

More people are working alone or are isolated than ever before, and laws to protect them are already in place. Under current legislation, it is unacceptable for an employer to allow the safety of an isolated employee to go unchecked.

What happens if someone working alone has a medical emergency, or encounters an aggressive member of the public while on the job? The law says they should be checked-on regularly, but this doesn't often happen. Without education about existing legislation many employers don't even know about this issue of workplace safety. Without enforcement, there's no incentive to comply, leaving workers in danger.

Randy Pokrant – Safety Consultant