October 2021

Five things we heard from the global OHS community at XXII World Congress

Future hazards, COVID lessons, a prevention mindset. From the many topics captivating the global occupational health and safety (OHS) community, here are five things we heard at the virtual XXII World Congress on Safety and Health at Work—an exhilarating four days of exchange and learning co-hosted by the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) on September 20-23.

Get the five key messages

Don’t miss out on “rich content” offered at World Congress

“Lots of innovative ideas.” “Superb... high-quality presentations.” “Nothing short of amazing.” “Well-organized and information-filled.” “Rich content and plenty of take-aways.” These and many more delegate comments like them spoke to the strength of the sessions at the virtual XXII World Congress on Safety and Health at Work. If you missed the event, you can still get access to the video presentations and other content until October 25.

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Poor employment standards a risk factor for work injury: study

Workers whose jobs fail to offer minimum employment standards are at an increased risk of work injury. When these workers also face health and safety vulnerability on the job, their risk of injury is even higher than the combined risk. That’s according to a new IWH study, recently published in the peer-reviewed journal, Safety and Health at Work.

Read about the study

New briefing: How OHS inspectorates responded during COVID

What challenges did OHS inspection authorities in developed countries face during the COVID-19 pandemic and how did they respond? IWH led an international team that asked these questions of 15 jurisdictions in four continents. Their responses are summarized in a new Issue Briefing.

See the briefing

Webinar: Understanding infection control practices and COVID spread at work

From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health authorities recognized workplaces as a potential site of transmission. However, large information gaps remain about workplace COVID-19 protection practices and COVID-19 spread at work. What types of infection control practices were in place at workplaces that continued to operate? How many cases of COVID-19 infection were transmitted at work? How did these differ across industries and worker groups? Find out on October 19, in an IWH Speaker Series by Dr. Peter Smith, who will share results from two studies conducted jointly with Public Health Ontario.

Sign up for the presentation

Disability and Work in Canada 2021 now open for registration

2021 continues to be a challenging year for the employment of people with disabilities. With the theme, “Achieving equality of opportunity and choice in careers, jobs and work,” the Disability and Work in Canada (DWC) 2021 Virtual Conference will be focused on topics such as comprehensive supports for people with disabilities, their full inclusion at work—including during the COVID-19 recovery—and moving forward on a pan-Canadian strategy for disability and work. DWC 2021 takes place over four half-days in early December (December 1, 2, 6 and 7). Registration is now open.

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New CRE-MSD series helps explain the Ontario health and safety system

The Centre of Research Expertise for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders (CRE-MSD) has released a three-part series that explains the structure of Ontario’s health and safety system. These papers outline the roles of the various partner organizations that make up the system, including government bodies, health and safety associations and research centres.

Get the three resource papers

Uyen Vu
Senior Communications Associate
613-979-7742
uvu@iwh.on.ca