Respectful Workplaces Working Group
The Respectful Workplaces Working Group is a collaborative, industry-led initiative focused on strengthening safe workplace culture across Nova Scotia’s construction sector.
Established by the Construction Safety Coalition, the working group brings together construction leaders, employers, workers, industry associations, labour representatives and other partners to share knowledge and coordinate action.
The initiative responds to a changing workplace and regulatory landscape, including new legislation and injury-prevention requirements affecting employers across the province.
By making relevant resources and best practices easier to find and use, identifying gaps and emerging needs, and developing practical, construction-specific tools, the working group will help employers understand evolving expectations, support inclusion and regulatory compliance, and take meaningful steps toward more respectful workplaces.
Read the media release: Nova Scotia Construction Sector Forms Respectful Workplace Working Group, Seeks Industry Input
Respectful Workplace Employer & Industry Survey
The Respectful Workplaces Working Group is seeking input from construction industry stakeholders across Nova Scotia.
The Respectful Workplace Employer & Industry Survey is targeted toward construction employers, owners, managers, supervisors, safety professionals, industry associations, and labour representatives. It will help the working group better understand current workplace practices, challenges, resource needs and opportunities, while identifying existing tools and materials that organizations may be willing to share. The feedback gathered will help shape the working group’s priorities and future activities.
Your organization’s feedback can help the group:
- Understand current respectful workplace practices and challenges
- Identify useful tools, training and resources already available
- Recognize needs and opportunities for collaboration
- Determine which issues and supports should be prioritized
- Develop practical, construction-specific resources
About the Respectful Workplaces Working Group
The Respectful Workplaces Working Group is a collaborative, industry-led initiative that was formed to strengthen safe and respectful workplace cultures across Nova Scotia’s construction sector. The group will provide employers with practical resources to create and maintain workplaces where everyone is treated with respect, dignity and professionalism. The group is governed by the Construction Safety Coalition, with Construction Safety Nova Scotia serving as the secretariat.
Why the group was created
The group was created in response to a changing workplace and regulatory landscape, including new legislation and injury-prevention requirements that affect employers across the province.
Recent changes include the recognition of gradual onset psychological injury as a compensable injury, the establishment of the Safer Workplaces Together injury-prevention strategy, and the addition of harassment protections to the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The working group will help employers understand and respond to these evolving expectations.
What the group will do
The group will make relevant resources and best practices easier to find and use, identify gaps and emerging needs, and develop practical tools that support respectful workplaces, inclusion and regulatory compliance.
By coordinating industry knowledge and experience, the group will help employers navigate a changing workplace and regulatory landscape and take practical steps to build more respectful workplaces.
Frequently Asked Questions
What issues is the group focused on?
The group is focused on helping employers respond to a changing workplace and regulatory landscape. This includes making relevant resources and best practices easier to find and use, identifying gaps and emerging needs, and developing practical tools that support respectful workplaces, inclusion and regulatory compliance.
How is this different from work already being done?
The group seeks to take an industry-wide strategic approach to align and amplify existing efforts, identify gaps, and avoid duplication. We are aiming to raise awareness of legal responsibilities and provide practical tools that make it easier for employers to raise the bar in their respective workplaces.
Is this the first survey, and what will it be used for?
This survey is the working group’s first step in gathering industry input. The feedback will help identify existing efforts, industry needs, priorities and opportunities, and inform the group’s future activities. Future engagement opportunities will provide additional ways for workers and other stakeholders to contribute.
Interested in future surveys and updates? Sign up to stay connected.
What does success look like?
Our vision is that all workplaces are physically and psychologically safe, welcoming, respectful, and supportive of a diverse workforce. The group will also explore ways to measure and track progress over time to help assess improvements across the industry.
Stay connected
Interested in future surveys, resources and opportunities to contribute?
Sign up to receive updates from the Respectful Workplaces Working Group.
