CUPE Health Care Workers' Council of Unions

ARTICLE 17 - HARASSMENT

17.01 a) Definition of Harassment:

Harassment means any objectionable conduct, comments or display by a person that is directed at a worker; and

is made on the basis of race, creed, religion, colour, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, disability, physical size or weight, age, nationality, ancestry or place of origin, union activity or;

is repeated intentional, sexually oriented practice that undermines an Employee's health, job performance or workplace relationships or endangers an Employee's employment status or potential; or

is repeated intentional, offensive comments and/or actions deliberately designed to demean and belittle an individual and/or to cause personal humiliation; or

constitutes a threat to the health or safety of the worker.

b) Examples of Harassment

Examples of harassment are:

verbal abuse or threats;
unwelcome remarks, jokes, innuendoes or taunting about a person's body, attire, age, marital status, ethnic or national origin, religion, sexuality, etc;
displaying of pornographic, racist or other offensive or derogatory pictures, cartoons or printed matter;
practical jokes which cause awkwardness or embarrassment;
unwelcome invitations or requests, whether indirect, explicit or
intimidating;
leering or other gestures;
unnecessary physical contact such as touching, patting, pinching or punching; and
physical assault.

17.02 Principle of Fair Treatment

The principle of fair treatment is a fundamental one and both the Employer(s) and the Local of the Union do not and will not condone any improper behavior on the part of any person which would jeopardize an Employee's dignity and well-being and/or undermine work relationships and productivity.

17.03 Shared Responsibility

The Employer(s) and the Local of the Union acknowledge a shared responsibility to:

prevent harassment;
promote a safe, abuse-free working environment;
uphold the philosophy of zero tolerance of harassment.

17.04 Co-operation

Employees and Local of the Union representatives will be expected to co-operate with management in identifying situations, reporting promptly and disclosing all information in order to facilitate the investigation.

17.05 Policy

The Employer(s) shall ensure a policy is developed jointly with the Local of the Union to address the issue of workplace harassment. The policy shall ensure that:

individuals are aware of the seriousness with which the parties view harassment;
incidents are jointly investigated in a prompt, objective, sensitive, and confidential manner not precluding the use of a third (3rd) party;
the necessary corrective action is taken;

Employees/Managers are provided with the education necessary for them to prevent harassment, identify harassment when it occurs and where applicable, how to carry out an investigation, such training shall be considered time worked and the Employee shall suffer no loss of pay or benefits.

17.06 Attempt to Resolve

a) If an Employee believes that they have been harassed, an Employee should:

tell the alleged harasser to stop;
document the event(s) complete with the time, date, location, names of witnesses and details for each event.

If harassment does not stop at this point, or if the harassed Employee does not feel able to approach the alleged harasser directly, that Employee should:

immediately report verbally or in writing the harassment to the appropriate Supervisor and/or Local Union representative.

b) Upon receipt of any verbal or written complaint the Employer shall attempt to resolve it through any means deemed appropriate in the particular circumstances of the complaint. The Supervisor must maintain written notes of their actions.

17.07 Failure to Resolve

Failure to resolve shall result in the initiation of a formal investigation as per Article 17.05.

Back to Collective Agreement

CUPE Health Care Workers' Council of Unions
3725E Eastgate Drive
Regina, Sask
S4X 1A5

Phone: 1-306-546-2185
Fax: 306-781-8177
Email: Gordon Campbell, President