Let’s Make Today’s Workplaces Safer
All workers deserve to make it home to their loved ones safe and injury-free at the end of every shift. That is why the labour movement has always stood up for stronger health and safety protections on the job. Sadly, despite the many gains we have made on workplace health and safety, 25,000 Manitobans are still injured at work every year.
It has been nearly 20 years since the last major update to Manitoba’s workplace safety and health laws, and workplaces have changed a lot since then. And the risks we face at work have changed too. We need to update our workplace safety and health laws to reflect the realities of today’s workplaces.
Below you’ll find five new protections that Manitobans need to make today’s workplaces safer.

Every year countless Manitoba workers develop mental health conditions caused by burnout, extreme stress and trauma in their workplaces.
Despite growing awareness about psychological hazards in the workplace and the toll that mental health injuries take on workers and their families, Manitoba’s workplace health and safety laws contain no specific protections for workers from psychological hazards. We need to update our health and safety laws to ensure that we protect against mental health injuries – just like we protect Manitobans from physical workplace injuries.

Too many Manitobans are facing violence on the job. Whether you work in health care, grocery and retail stores, schools, social services or in public transit, workplace violence is out of control in Manitoba. Over the past decade over 13,000 Manitoba workers have been injured by violence at work. And the number of injuries caused by workplace violence has quadrupled over the past decade, reaching over 1,800 in 2023.
Violence isn’t part of the job. Manitoba workers need strong new rules to protect them from this serious and growing risk of workplace violence, and we need stronger enforcement to make sure those rules are followed.

Climate change means that Manitobans are experiencing more extreme weather, and it’s impacting Manitobans who work outside.
Extreme heat and cold makes workplaces less safe, and it’s time for our workplace health and safety laws to reflect the new realities of climate change. We need new protections in place that reflect the reality that more workers are being exposed to extreme temperatures.

No one should be forced to make the impossible choice between staying home from work because they’re sick, or working sick in order to pay the bills.
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted how important it is for workers to stay home if they are sick, to prevent making their coworkers sick too.
But almost 40 per cent of Manitobans have no paid sick days at work. Sick workers are a health and safety issue – no one wants to work beside someone who is coughing, sneezing or running a fever.
And we know that healthy workers are more productive workers. Being forced to work sick because you can’t afford to stay home and get better is a drag on productivity and our economy. It’s time for every Manitoba worker to have at least 10 paid sick days on the job.

Asbestos is Manitoba’s number one occupational killer – every single year.
Shockingly, Manitoba has no certification or licensing system for companies that deal with the abatement and remediation of asbestos, and no mandatory training standards for workers employed to test and remove asbestos. Manitoba’s Wild West approach leaves the door open for bad contractors to use unprepared and poorly protected workers for hazardous asbestos removal work.
As more of our buildings show their age, requiring demolition or repair, many workers continue to be exposed. We need strong new rules to protect workers from this deadly hazard to prevent a new wave of asbestos-related deaths in the not-too-distant future.
Manitoba needs to protect workers, homeowners and renters by taking action now.