OHS Forklift Training Rules Don’t Ban Hiring Now and Training Later

A sawmill employee was passed over for promotion to a forklift operator’s position in favour of a co-worker with less seniority. The employer’s reason: The senior employee didn’t have the CSA forklift operator training required by Section 16.7 of the OHS Regulations. The union cried foul, noting that the senior employee had forklift operating experience and could have completed the necessary CSA training during the job’s 15-day trial period. The BC Labour Relations Board agreed and upheld the grievance. The Regulations don’t ban selecting workers without the required training for such a position and providing the training before letting them actually operate the forklift [West Fraser Sawmills Ltd. (Fraser Lake Sawmills Division) v United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, Local 1-2017, 2021 BCLRB 96 (CanLII), June 4, 2021].