Quebec Union Federation Takes Legal Action Against CNESST Over N95 Masks

The World Health Organization, this past July, recognized the risk of COVID-19 airborne transmission after 239 scientists in 32 countries published an open letter asking the organization to revise its coronavirus recommendations.

The Fédération de la santé et des services sociaux (FSSS-CSN) affiliated with the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) announced Thursday, in a press release it has taken legal action in Quebec’s Superior Court against CNESST.

The Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail, (Commission on workplace standards, equity, and health and safety), is mandated by the Quebec government to administer the province’s occupational health and safety system. The organization is overseen by 15 Board of Directors, of which seven are union representatives, including the CSN’s Vice-présidente Caroline Senneville and 2nd Vice-president Jean Lacharité.

According to the press release the FSSS-CSN is asking the Court to enjoin (prohibit a particular act or action by issuing an injunction/court order) the CNESST to “no longer have its prevention activities unilaterally dictated to it by third parties, more specifically the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ).”

The union Federation claims the INSPQ’s recommendations fall short of putting in the workplace, the necessary protections against the risk of aerial transmission of COVID-19.

Risk of COVID-19 airborne transmission was recognized by the WHO this past July after 239 scientists in 32 countries published an open letter addressed to the WHO, asking the organization to revise its coronavirus recommendations.

• Open-Letter From 239 Experts, Forces WHO to Revise Position On COVID-19 Airborne Risks – What Does This Mean for Healthcare Workers Safety?

“Through this recourse, the FSSS-CSN enjoins CNESST to order employers to provide the necessary means of protection to protect the health and safety of personnel. This is notably the case for the wearing of the N95 mask to protect personnel against airborne transmission of the virus,” FSSS-CSN Press Release.

The appeal for judicial review by way of mandamus (a court order) is asking the Court to declare illegal the CNESST’s policy of making the INSPQ’s recommendations, regarding the wearing of personal protective equipment (PPE), in the context of the pandemic the norm. Instead, the union central wants the court to force the CNESST to ensure the province’s Occupational Health and Safety Act is respected in all workplaces.

“Thousands of health and social services workers in the public and private sectors have been infected by COVID-19, and some have lost their lives. Many outbreaks are still active throughout Quebec. We are sorry to have to file such a lawsuit to force CNESST to play its role, so that workers are safe in all workplaces and, by the same token, the entire population,” explains Judith Huot, Vice-President of the FSSS-CSN.