MESSAGE FROM CEO

I have the great honour of being Community Social Services Health and Safety Association’s (CSSHSA) first CEO, since it became an independent, non-profit association in April of 2024. The organization started of as a pilot project, a collaboration between CSSEA, WorkSafeBC, the Federation and the Bargaining Association. For many years, CSSEA provided leadership and guidance, and fostered health, safety and well-being needs of the sector and I am very grateful for all the work that CSSEA has accomplished, and the effort that went into making CSSHSA a reality. I am humbled to be chosen to lead this important work. 

What made this work so appealing was knowing that CSSHSA members are looking for a collaborative effort between the employers and unions to create best practices to ensure the health, safety and well-being of the sector. In my past work experience, I worked frequently, with all levels of management and unions to develop practical solutions to health and safety challenges in the workplace. I have extensive experience in the healthcare sector, and have often worked with the same unions to problem solve and implement practices that have led to reductions in injuries and claims. 

Prior to CSSHSA, I was leading projects at SWITCH BC, an organization representing unions, employers and Doctors of BC, which was created to serve the health, safety and well-being needs of the healthcare sector. SWITCH BC is funded by Ministry of Health and has been a force for positive change in the healthcare sector. There are many lessons to be learned from SWITCH BC, the previous version, OHSAH and all the other health and safety association in the province that have paved the way before us. I hope to leverage the experience and wisdom of our partner health and safety associations, to move us through the start-up phase and into a transformative association that will drive positive change in the sector. 

While healthcare has many of the same health and safety challenges, I will acknowledge that CSS is not healthcare. Certainly, there are many similarities between the two sectors, for example, both have a high rates of violence and aggression, and musculoskeletal injuries, and many of the hazards are the same. However, solving the challenges of the CSS sector, requires tailored solutions and will be no easy task. The sector has some of the highest WorkSafeBC rates and increasing claim numbers and durations. Luckily, there are excellent workplace health, safety and well-being programs and initiatives underway all across B.C., and my goal is to highlight them and create opportunities for collaboration and ensure they are available province wide for all to use. 

There is no single solution to supporting the health, safety and well-being of people working in CSS sector, but the one thing we absolutely must do is find ways to support the very reason people choose social services careers. We want to work together to define what it means to have workplaces that allow us to thrive and to support those who are struggling.  Last few years, have been challenging for the sector, we have seen high rates of burnout among employees and managers. We are still recovering from the pandemic and all its effects. This is why our focus will be on psychologically health and safety. Canada developed the first standard for psychologically health and safety standard, more than 10 years ago. Since than many organization have adopted and implemented those practices in their workplaces, and we want to support more organizations to take that leap. We will do this by listening to you, hearing from people in social services and expanding or implementing programs and services that you feel will improve the mental health, and wellbeing.

Thank you for supporting us, together, we can create thriving workplaces in the sector, and support the people that make our provincial a great place to live.

Warm regards,

Tigran Bajgoric
CSSHSA, CEO