• 3. Organizational Social Responsibility – workplaces were asked to demonstrate steps taken to support the health, safety, and well-being of the community in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Discussion:

In collaboration with all our Union Groups and our employees, the Corporation of the City of Windsor’s commitment and dedication since the start of the pandemic resulted in achieving the following three (3) separate awards:

• Health & Safety Gold Award,

• Mental Health Promotion Gold Award, and

• Organizational Social Responsibility Award.

As the COVID-19 pandemic evolved, our Employees, together with their Union Executive, allowed the Corporation of the City of Windsor to adapt to this fluid situation with a goal to keep an open line of communication with our employees who were experiencing a new normal. Community involvement, continuance of services and corporate pride shone thru as employees were deployed to alternative work assignments in different environments (ie. Unemployed Help Centre, Shelters), or offered services in alternate means (ie from home or by appointments).

Efforts were made to address the health and safety of each worksite by conducting individual questionnaires, departmental risk assessments and implementing a variety of measures to address identified hazards such as:

• Promotion of proper hand hygiene, wearing masks in public areas and respiratory etiquette through signage and posters hung at the various City of Windsor sites in common departmental areas to provide awareness of new Health & Safety protocols to employees.

• Elevator protocols and physical distancing process.

• Staggered start/end/break/lunch times.

• Implementing a return of 50% of employees at any one time to provide for similar cohorts.

• Regular and mandatory education of Health & Safety information through additional online training and communication. All information was made available on a central Covid-19 Information Page on the Corporation’s intranet site.

• Enhanced cleaning protocols were put in place.

• Workplace/office modifications such as a change to table configuration set-up in the lunch rooms, training rooms and installation of plexiglass barriers and floor decals.