| TO: | Executive Council Alternate Regional Vice-Presidents Local Presidents LRO |
RE: “Understanding Harassment to make it easier to identify”
Sisters and Brothers:
The speech given by Sister Jacquie deAguayo, Coordinator, Representation Section, Public Service Alliance of Canada, at the September 2006 Presidents’ Conference raised much interest from Union representatives. Attached, therefore, is the document “HARASSMENT – HOW DO YOU KNOW WHETHER IT IS OR IT ISN’T?” by Sister deAguayo. The speech is a preamble; therefore, it should be used with reserve.
As Union representatives, you are expected to help out members facing difficult workplace situations. Such situations, if not resolved, have the potential to become harassment. In order to play a proactive role, the Harassment Committee felt that it was important to provide you with a related Bulletin (Bulletin no. 16) that may prove useful in selecting the proper approach to take. Indeed, we feel that there are workplace situations calling for quick action rather than the filing of a harassment grievance or complaint. Nevertheless, each case much be assessed on the basis of:
- the work context
- the manner in which the action occurred
- the offensive nature of the action
- any other element deemed relevant
Following are other documents, available on the UTE web site, to which you may refer to:
- UTE Policy – Anti-Harassment
- Guidelines on Union Intervention in Harassment Cases - Member against Member in the Workplace
- Harassment Case – Fact Sheet
- Bulletin no. 16
- Agency Policy – Preventing and Resolving Harassment
In Solidarity,
Marcel Bertrand
Chairperson, UTE Harassment Committee
