The City shall continue to make reasonable provision for the safety, health and welfare of its employees. Protective devices as required by law to properly protect employees from injury shall be provided by the City. Employees shall be required to use safety equipment provided for them in the manner mutually agreed to by the Fire & Rescue Operations Department Employee Safety Committee and the Chief.
I. Departmental Safety Committee
(A) There shall be established and maintained a Department of Fire & Rescue Operations Employee Safety Committee whose recommendations with cost/benefit analysis, shall be considered, discussed and answered at any time they are submitted, for improvement of tools, apparatus, equipment, station design, health or safety conditions. This committee shall consist of seven (7) members. Four (4) shall be from the bargaining unit and designated by the Union and three (3) shall be designated by the Chief. The Union shall chair the committee. The Safety Committee shall meet monthly unless waived by mutual agreement.
The safety representative from the Department of Human Resources will work with the Safety Committee to assist and coordinate in the implementation of Safety Committee recommendations when feasible.
Recommendations made by majority vote of the committee, not implemented, shall be subject to step three of the grievance procedure.
Worker's Compensation:
(B) There shall be established and maintained a Fire & Rescue Operations Department Workers' Compensation Committee up to five (5) members from the bargaining unit.
The purpose of this committee is to meet monthly with the City and review all workers' compensation forms to be filed with the State. The Workers' Compensation Committee shall meet monthly unless waived by mutual agreement.
(C) In addition to current safety policy and the SC-5 form, there will be established a policy and form to initiate immediate action to resolve any issue or condition that a Department of Fire & Rescue Operations member deems to be imminent danger.
II. (A) The parties will establish a labor-management health and safety committee. The union will be represented on this committee by the union president or vice president and one (1) other designated representative. The City will be represented by a designee of the Commissioner of Human Resources and by commissioners or other administrators designated by the appointing authority based on specialty areas (e.g., construction, transportation, pollutants, etc.). This committee may also include representatives from other bargaining units within the City. The committee will consider all issues brought before it, regardless of the bargaining unit impact.
(B) This joint committee shall review all general and/or special departmental safety rules for compliance with required safety standards and, wherever possible, such rules shall be adopted city-wide.
(C) This joint committee will also perform the following functions:
(1) The committee may recommend periodic inspections of the various locations, when necessary, by staff of the Human Resource Development Section of the Department of Human Resources.
(2) The committee shall make recommendations for the correction of unsafe or harmful work conditions and the elimination of unsafe or harmful practices as reported to the committee by representatives of the Human Resource Development Section of the Department of Human Resources and Divisional Safety Committees.
(3) The committee may recommend investigation of any potential worker exposure to dangerous substances, fumes, noise, dust, etc.
(4) The committee shall be provided written identification of any potentially toxic substance to which workers are exposed together with material safety data sheets, if any.
(5) The committee may develop a safety award program which may include cash awards and/or other premiums that, upon mutual agreement between the appointing authority and the union, may be adopted/implemented during the term of this collective bargaining agreement.
(6) The committee shall develop other cost containment measures, which shall include:
a. Enhanced managed care and utilization review.
b. Increased claims control and claims audits.
The committee shall develop annual goals, objectives, and timetables directly aimed at reducing worker's compensation costs. Goals and objectives not met within established time frames shall be critically reviewed by the committee. If the City, in its sole discretion, is dissatisfied with progress in meeting goals and objectives or with the committee's action or inaction, the City may take such actions as it deems necessary to exact cost containment.
The committee shall review and analyze all reports of work-related injury or illness, as submitted by the representative of the Human Resources Development Section and recommend procedures for the prevention of accidents and disease and for the promotion of health and safety of employees.
The committee shall promote health and safety education and/or participate in such programs.
The committee may ask the advice, opinion and suggestions of experts and authorities on safety matters and recommend to the representative of the Human Resource Development Section that experts and authorities from the Industrial Commission of the State of Ohio Division of Safety and Hygiene and the Toledo/ Lucas County Safety Council, as well as international representatives of the association be utilized on an as-needed basis as determined by the committee.
Sub-committees may be formed as deemed necessary by the co-chairpersons to study issues, develop reasonable solutions, and report back to the committee.
Annual savings directly attributable to the cost containment measures provided herein shall be placed in a worker's compensation fund to be used as a reserve for payment of future cost increases. Savings shall be considered directly attributable to cost containment measures when a direct correlation can be established between a measure adopted herein and a per employee reduction in the City's cost in providing both injury pay and worker's compensation benefits from the preceding year.
Association representatives will receive their regular pay while on committee business.
The committee shall meet regularly, on at least a monthly basis, and attendance shall be required. Actions taken in the absence of a bargaining unit representative shall be binding upon that bargaining unit. The City will provide minutes of each meeting.