Speaking Up, and What Helps Make It Possible
Every safety program in the country asks workers to speak up.
It's worth recognizing what that asks of the person doing it.
Speaking up can mean being the one who slows things down. It can mean possibly being wrong in front of others. It can mean the crew waits while you explain your concern. Sometimes, it means raising it more than once.
"See something, say something" is easy to say. Actually speaking up takes courage, and how comfortable people feel doing it is one of the clearest reflections of an organization's culture. It's also why workers have three rights: to know, to participate and to refuse.
What the law asks of you, plainly
Your duties are real, they're specific, and they're much the same in Ontario, BC and federally regulated workplaces.
- Work safely and follow the rules that apply to your job.
- Use the protective equipment and devices you're given.
- Report hazards, defects and contraventions to your employer or supervisor. Anything that could endanger you or anybody else.
- Keep guards and protective devices in place, use equipment the way it's intended, and avoid horseplay.
BC adds one worth noting: take reasonable care for your own health and safety and for anyone else who might be affected by what you do.
Three statutes, one shape. Work safely, use what you're given, and let someone know when something isn't right.
Where your role ends and others' begins
You are not expected to fix a hazard you don't have the authority or resources to control.
You are not expected to take on a risk because the schedule is tight or because raising it feels awkward.
Reporting is how you fulfil your duty when you identify something that isn't right. Acting on it belongs to the people with the standing to act. That's intentional: responsibility follows control.
That boundary matters more than it might seem. Many good workers take on risk they were never meant to carry, because raising it felt like a fuss. Over time that can become the normal way the job gets done, and the organization misses out on valuable insight from the people closest to the work.
I know this one personally. Early in my life I was seriously injured on a job, and the explanation I was given was that I'd been "young and stupid." It took me years to see that explanation pointed at me and away from the conditions I was working in. I wrote about that in an earlier post.
Your three rights
These aren't simply company policy. They're reflected in occupational health and safety legislation across Canada.
The right to know. You're entitled to know the hazards you're working around, and to get the information, instruction and training to work safely near them. That training should prepare you before you do the work, fit the actual role and hazards, and be delivered in a way you can understand. Being told about a hazard and being trained to work safely around it are different things. If you're asked to do something you haven't been trained for, that's something to raise, and providing that training is the organization's role.
The right to participate. Every jurisdiction requires a health and safety representative or a joint committee once an employer reaches a certain size. Ontario starts a representative at more than five workers and a committee at twenty. BC starts a representative at ten and a committee at twenty. Federally it's a representative under twenty, a committee at twenty, and a policy committee at three hundred.
Something many people don't realize: worker members are chosen by the workers, not appointed by management. That's deliberate. The system is built on the understanding that independent voice matters.
The right to refuse unsafe work. You have a legal right to refuse work in circumstances set out by your jurisdiction's health and safety legislation. The test and process differ by jurisdiction, and those differences matter, so it's worth getting familiar with yours ahead of time. Ontario sets it out in section 43 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. In BC it's sections 3.12 and 3.13 of the OHS Regulation. Federally it's section 128 of the Canada Labour Code.
In each version, the general shape is similar: you report the concern, it is investigated, and there is a process for escalating it if it remains unresolved.
You're protected when you raise a concern
This protection is what makes speaking up possible, and it's not always widely known.
Your employer cannot dismiss, discipline, penalize, intimidate or coerce you for raising a health and safety concern, for using your rights, or for contacting the regulator. That's section 50 in Ontario, sections 47 through 49 in BC, and section 147 federally.
In Ontario, if you take it to the Labour Relations Board, the employer has to show the safety issue wasn't a factor in their decision. Remedies include reinstatement and lost wages.
One limit worth knowing. Raising a safety concern is protected. Declining to follow instructions in general is not, and the two can get mixed together. Keeping them separate helps your protection stay clear.
What helps speaking up feel possible
Workers have a duty to report, and employers have a duty to make reporting possible. The two work together, with the employer's part laying the foundation.
Worker competence isn't something an organization can simply demand. It has to give people the knowledge, training, equipment and authority they need to develop it.
Training on the actual work. Specific to the task and the equipment people actually use, and delivered before they start.
A way to confirm it made sense. A signature shows someone attended. Understanding shows up when a person can explain the procedure and the reason behind it.
Consistent instructions. Where the written procedure says one thing and a supervisor says another, that's worth raising so it can be clarified, rather than something to sort out on the spot.
Information about hazards that are actually present, including anything new this week.
Equipment that fits the job and fits you, available where the work is happening.
Real authority to stop work, backed by experience showing it's supported. People take their cues from how past stop-work moments were received.
A response that starts with thanks. When someone reports a hazard, "Thank you for telling me. Let's figure out what happened" keeps the door open far better than "Why did you do that?"
Where any of those are missing, it's a signal for leadership to step in and help.
How to raise something so it reaches the right people
This isn't often taught, so here it is plainly.
Be specific. "That's not safe" can start a debate. "That strap is frayed on the underside and I don't want to lift with it" is clear and easy to act on.
Share what you need, not just what's wrong. The person you're telling usually wants to help and may not know what a good fix looks like.
Bring it to someone who can act. Talking it through with a coworker is natural, and it helps to also bring it to someone with the standing to address it.
When you can, time it so you can raise it before the lift, not during. Though during is still better than after.
Raise the safety concern on its own. Other concerns may be just as valid. When they're combined, the safety piece can get lost.
Your part in it
This is the other half, and it's just as important.
Once you've been trained, understand the hazard, have equipment that fits and real authority to stop, competence means putting all of it to use.
Wearing what you were given. Following the procedure you were trained on, including on the days it's inconvenient. Saying something when you see something. Helping make sure no one has to choose between speed and safety.
Asking about the why. If a procedure doesn't make sense to you, asking is part of doing it well. You may also be the person who notices where it doesn't match how the work really happens, and that's valuable for everyone.
Reporting the near miss where nothing happened is the piece that's easiest to overlook, precisely because nothing happened. It's also some of the most valuable information your organization can get: a full picture of how something could go wrong, at no cost to anyone. We report hazards so the next person doesn't have to find them the hard way.
When a concern needs more follow-up
Sometimes a concern doesn't get a response right away. It's natural to feel discouraged when that happens. Continuing to raise it is what keeps the system working for everyone.
Keep your own notes. Date, what you reported, who you told, what they said. A phone note is enough, and it gives you a clear record.
Follow up in writing. An email or text creates a timestamp a hallway conversation doesn't.
Connect with your committee or representative. That structure exists to help concerns keep moving.
Reach out to the regulator when needed. The Ministry of Labour, WorkSafeBC, or a federal health and safety officer, depending on where you work. Contacting them is protected.
The bottom line
Safety works best as a shared effort, with the employer and workers each doing their part.
The organization's role is to give you what you need to work safely. Your role is to use it, and to speak up when something doesn't fit.
Speaking up is something only you can do, because you're the one standing where you're standing.
Share it with someone who can act. Keep your own record of having raised it. And if it needs more attention, raise it again through the other channels available to you.
The strongest workplaces aren't the ones where people make the safe choice because someone's watching. They're the ones where people make it because they understand why it matters, even when nobody is.
Want more like this? Check out our other posts on the VirtuOHS blog, Beyond the Binder.