APEGGA & Province Sign Pact For Health & Safety Partnership

APEGGA has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Alberta Labor making the Association a participant in the Partnerships in Health & Safety Program, a voluntary, co-operative venture intended to make occupational health and safety a normal part of doing business.

APEGGA joins a sizable list of Alberta firms (among them several APEGGA Permit holders), as well as associations, that have signed on as partners in the program.

Prior to signing the MOU on behalf of APEGGA during the Jan. 20 Edmonton District meeting, President Dennis Lindberg, P.Eng., noted that the Association considers public safety to be a paramount responsibility and one which extends to all members of APEGGA.

Peter Kruselnicki, P.Eng., deputy minister of Alberta Labor, the department responsible for the administering the Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Act, signed on behalf of the government.

Noting that safety is "ingrained" in the Association’s mandate, Mr. Kruselnicki said: "What really impresses me about APEGGA is its strong sense of the importance of public safety."

The Partnerships Program aims to change attitudes and habits of employees and employers by training workers, developing health and safety programs, and conducting safety auditing.

"Our goals are to help raise public awareness about the importance of health and safety," said Mr. Kruselnicki, adding that, with the size of its membership, APEGGA can have a significant impact in bringing the safety message to the fore.

Under the MOU, APEGGA is expected to engage in an ongoing process of:

• raising member awareness of the importance of worker health and safety;
• promoting involvement of members in the Partnership; and
• Assisting members in the development, implementation and evaluation of health and safety programs appropriate to their needs.

There also is stipulation for participating associations to communicate to Alberta Labor, on an annual basis, efforts made to implement the program’s goals. Alberta Labor is obliged to provide assistance in the development of training programs to educate workers and management in health and safety programs, and in the evaluation of such programs. A further provision permits Alberta Labor, in conjunction with APEGGA, to issue certificates of recognition to members whose health and safety programs have met the standards of the Partnership.

For more information about APEGGA’s participation in the Partnerships in Health and Safety Program, please contact APEGGA Director of Special Projects Stewart McIntosh, P.Eng., at 403-426-3990.