HOLD THE HIGH HEELS
Province banning footwear that puts workers at risk
The province will make changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Code to look after the feet of Alberta workers and put safety over style by banning mandatory footwear that could pose health and safety risks.
“Mandatory high heel policies that can put workers at risks for slips, trips and falls and can become a workplace hazard are no longer acceptable,” Alberta Labour Minister Christina Gray announced Friday morning at Cibo Bistro in Oliver.
“We’re doing this after hearing from so many Albertans and workers who have had detrimental effects to having to work an eighthour shift in high heels.”
The minister’s announcement comes on the heels of an opinion piece by bistro co-owner Lisa Caputo who shared the pain she endured working under a mandatory high heels policy for five years before leaving the pressures to start her own restaurant under a new mentality.
Caputo, now in her mid-30s, said her feet are shaped like diamonds, her heels are scarred and she suffers from serious feet and back pain. After starting her own restaurant and creating a workplace policy based on comfort and safety, Caputo said it is important for her to share her story and prevent similar scenarios from happening to young women just starting out in the workforce.
“Hallelujah. I’m hoping as time goes on we see less and less women in high heels and more comfortable and smiling at their jobs,” Caputo said about the government’s decision. “I want to see women of the future not have to go through what I went through ... and not have feet that are broken at the age of 35.”
Amendments to the code will cover all footwear and not specifically high heels, but Gray said she is hearing most of the concerns from women forced to wear twoinch to three-inch high heels in the hospitality industry leading to trips, falls and injuries.
Gray said she met with several employers in October to discuss safety concerns and there weren’t any strong objections to new rules, with most having already adopted policies that put safety and comfort first.
But debates on social media pinning the blame on the workers proved something needed to be done to protect workers’ rights, Gray added.
“I think that really ignores a lot of the pressures when someone is young and trying to make ends meet, to assume that the responsibility should be on them,” she said. “It’s not about banning high heels. Women still have the choice.”
Alberta will become the fourth province to ban mandatory footwear policies.
The rule changes will not apply to mandatory safety footwear, such as steel-toe boots on construction sites.
The ministerial order will come into effect next Jan. 1 to give employers time to amend current policies in place.
Hallelujah. I’m hoping as time goes on we see less and less women in high heels and more comfortable and smiling at their jobs.