For the betterment of the construction industry
and communities across the province.
In the construction industry, we can’t afford to let the quality of work, professionalism and knowledge become lax. OCC will be diligent in supporting a workforce that sets the standard across Canada. By working with government, industry, media and the public – the Consortium will prepare briefs, whitepapers and other materials to inform government and stakeholders of issues within Ontario’s construction sectors: industrial, commercial, institutional and residential.
Formed in 2018, the Ontario Construction Consortium is an organization dedicated to strengthening the construction industry through Advocacy, Education, Networking and
FRONTLINE
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Workforce Development. The OCC will be conducting research for dissemination to government, industry, media and the public. The Consortium will prepare briefs, position papers and other materials to inform government and stakeholders of issues within Ontario’s construction sectors: industrial, commercial, institutional and residential. The Consortium will make presentations to inform stakeholders of issues and developments within the industry.
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ontario Construction Consortium’s primary concern became the safety of the province’s construction workers on jobsites. We heard numerous reports of tradespeople working in unsafe conditions – on sites where proper social distancing was not being observed, where protective equipment was not in place and clean running water was not available. Workers reported instances of poor sanitary conditions where portable toilets were not being properly maintained.
Starting on March 24, the OCC called on the provincial government to shut down construction for two weeks until these unsafe conditions could be rectified. OCC put out a series of news releases that received wide media attention – we believe we made our case to the government and the public in a reasonable, forthright and forceful manner.
Here are summaries of those releases:
TORONTO – The Ontario Construction Consortium (OCC) is calling on the provincial government to suspend work on construction sites across Ontario for 14 days to protect the safety of workers and employers amid the COVID-19 crisis.
“It makes no sense that you can’t have your neighbour over for a cup of coffee yet construction sites are expected to continue operations and they can have hundreds of employees working in close proximity to each other,” said Gillies. “This is contrary to the best advice of public health officials to maintain social distancing.”
Gillies said the OCC supports positions taken by both the Carpenters and Painters union, in calling on the government to shut down construction temporarily.
“As Premier Ford announced yesterday, the construction workers of this Province should not be expected to work on jobsites where the basic safety requirements for COVID-19 are not being met,” said Tony Iannuzzi, the Executive Secretary Treasurer of the Carpenters Union. “Those minimum standards simply to not exist on most of our jobsites.”
Bruno Mandic, the Business Manager and Secretary Treasurer of the Painters and Allied Trades District Council 46, echoed those sentiments, saying “it’s impossible to do our jobs (and maintain social distancing). If you’re on the 20th or 50th floor of a building working, the only way to get there is by elevator and there’s no social distancing.”
“The Minister calls for better on-site sanitation, better communications on health and safety policies, enabling greater distances on jobsites and better tracking and monitoring of workers – all of which would be positive practices. But they are not always happening on the sites and are often impossible to monitor or enforce”.
Gillies went on: “It makes no sense to ban gatherings of five or more people in most circumstances, but still have hundreds of workers reporting to construction jobsites”.
There is no protection for subcontractors to refuse work when they are contractually bound to general contractors – who are often pressuring their suppliers to keep working.
“We are hearing from workers and their family members from throughout Ontario who are afraid to go to work, but also afraid not to report for fear of losing their jobs”, said Gillies.
Toronto – The Ontario Construction Consortium (OCC) supports today’s move by the Ontario Government to shut down non-essential Industrial, Commercial and Institutional construction 4 sites to protect the safety of construction workers at risk with the spread of the COVID-19 virus, but remains concerned about the continuing designation of residential construction as
“essential”.
In early April, Labour Minister Monte McNaughton did order a halt to new residential construction, but allowed ongoing projects to continue. This went part way to addressing the OCC’s concerns, and commended the Minister for his action.
