The Sask Party government introduced amendments to the Employment Act today (Thurs), which Labour Relations and Workplace Safety Minister Don Morgan considers will be a step forward in helping protect the health and safety of workers.

They include adding secondary and post-secondary students in the definition of a worker so they are covered and requiring all employers to have a violence policy which includes investigating incidents of violence and harassment in the workplace. The amendments include clarifying situations for occupational health officers, giving them the authority to take pictures and recordings during inspections, and to authorize officers to exclude nominees from investigation interviews, if there is a question about whether that person doesn’t have the workers’ best interest in mind.