The primary purpose of this document is to guide you through the main aspects of health and disability support in the core public administration workplace. The guide is designed to give you an overview of what you need to know if you are absent from work for health reasons and to direct you to more detailed and comprehensive information that can be found elsewhere.

The guide is also a resource for those assisting you during your illness or return to work, such as your spouse, family, friends, or co-workers.

Download Workplace Health and Disability: A Guide for Employees and Those Supporting Them here (pdf).

Hang out a shingle that you are interested in stories about bullying in the workplace, and you get an earful. Eventually you cannot help but think of all the money that businesses and government would save if they prevented or adequately addressed bullying or if, for example, Workplace Healthy and Safety were to add bullying to its jurisdiction.

Unfortunately, to date, a review of the Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission by an independent review panel has failed to address this issue. The provincial government can still seize the opportunity in its upcoming response to the review panel’s report to finally deal with this issue.

New Brunswickers who have been targeted by a workplace bully say there is nowhere to turn. Women are more often than not the target of workplace bullying — repeated, unreasonable behaviour that intimidates or humiliates an employee or group of employees.

Harassers, on the other hand, rarely pay a price for their behaviour. One recent survey of bullying victims in the U.S. found that in 70 per cent of cases, the bullying only stopped when the victim quit or was fired. The bully suffered consequences in 13 per cent of cases.

When workers are harassed or bullied on the job, their physical and mental wellbeing is affected, which can jeopardize workplace safety, and productivity. That’s why the New Brunswick Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission needs to get involved.

Bullying is recognized as a health and safety issue in other jurisdictions such as Quebec.

The target of constant belittling by her boss, one woman suffered headaches and a growing fear of encountering her boss at work. She says she has to mentally prepare to go into work every day. The stress is leeching into her home life. There has been no follow-up to her complaints to the human resources division at her workplace.

Another woman at the mercy of a bullying boss worked in a dollar store and knows of no human resources department to which to complain.

The bullied worker who stays in a bully-friendly workplace will often develop self-protective behaviours that can carry over to a new job — holding back on commitment of time, energy and enthusiasm, and engendering distrust of co-workers. Some simply quit, leading to high staff turnover.

One woman said about her bully, “He was evaluated as being a time-bomb waiting to explode, but he was simply transferred to another office in the same town.” If she had been able to report this man to Workplace Health and Safety, an investigation would have been followed by an intervention, and just “transferring” the source of danger would not have been accepted as a solution to the problem.

While sexual harassment is forbidden by human rights laws, psychological harassment, as bullying is also called, is not covered unless it can be shown to be motivated by the victim’s race, sex or one of the other prohibited grounds for discrimination recognized by law.

Some bullying targets have said there should be legislation that gives WHSCC authority to investigate bullying incidents and the power, through fines, to enforce anti-bullying measures. Since employers respond to Commission fines regarding safety issues such as equipment and procedures, they would equally respond to fines about bullying.

The larger benefit of bringing these issues under WHSCC umbrella is to allow for investigation and follow up services, and to educate people that bullying is a workplace safety issue.

The costs of bullying, sexual harassment and physical violence at work — medical costs, benefits and welfare related to premature retirement and loss of productive workers — reduce between one per cent and 3.5 per cent from countries’ Gross Domestic Product, according to an estimate prepared for the International Labour Organization.

While reliable data is lacking, bullying is said to be far more common than sexual harassment or racial discrimination.

Workplace bullying is a workplace health issue. The Workplace Health and Safety Compensation Commission should provide protection and assure redress for victims. It should provide advice to victims, have a system for taking and investigating complaints, tough penalties for employers who tolerate it and provide follow-up to ensure the problem is rectified.

They should also assist employers to develop prevention policies and codes of conduct.

The final report of the Independent Review Panel of New Brunswick Workplace Health and Safety Compensation system issued this spring does not mention workplace bullying, though the issue was raised during its consultations. Its final report states “The thrust of the Independent Review Panel’s recommendations is aimed at strengthening the current system while keeping in mind the balance necessary to have a fully funded system with the best possible benefits and the lowest possible assessment rates in Atlantic Canada.”

Workplace Health and Safety cannot become stronger while ignoring real, sometimes ugly issues which can plague all workers, more often women. Perhaps it would have helped if the Independent Review Panel had included at least one woman. Women experience specific occupational health and safety problems, but their needs have not received the attention nor the protection they warrant in research, policy and program development, prevention and education efforts and compensation coverage.

“For every dollar spent on preventive work, you save nine in corrective work” — the quote from writer John Byrne says it all.

n Ginette Petitpas-Taylor, of Moncton, is Chairperson of the New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women. Her column on women’s issues appears in the Times & Transcript every Thursday. She may be reached via e-mail at acswcccf@gnb.ca

April 28, 2008 will mark the 24^th anniversary of the National Day of Mourning for workers killed and injured on the job. The National Day of Mourning was started in 1984 as an initiative of the Canadian Labour movement and this day of reflection is now established around the world.

• More Day of Mourning information, including a list of events in BC
• Read more Heath & Safety related posts

In 1984, according to the official figures listed by the Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada (AWCBC), 744 workers were listed as having died from workplace injuries. But instead of seeing and improvement is this tragic situation, the past two decades has actually seen an increase in the number of workplace fatalities. In 2006, the last year that the AWCBC has released statistics for, 976 workers were killed on the job due to workplace injuries.

However, we know that these statistics are grossly underestimated and that the real number of deaths resulting from occupational illness and disease, and other workerplace factors are never included in these official statistics, as it is extremely difficult to prove that deaths that are caused by occupational disease, such as cancer, are caused by exposure to hazards in the workplace.

Every year the Labour movement has to update these statistics and it is definitely a depressing exercise.

Since 1984, it is estimated that more than 25,000 workers have been killed on the job and more than 25 million workers have been injured while at work.

This year the theme for the Day of Mourning as adopted by the Canadian Labour Congress is “ Mourn for the dead. Fight for the Living – Now more that ever!”.

The Labour movement has and continues to diligently work to gain many health and safety protection for workers through legislation and collective bargaining.

However, there continues to be a serious lack of commitment on behalf of governments at the provincial and particularly at the federal level to enforce the health and safety protections that we have fought for such as the right to refuse unsafe work.

Workers and their representative need to mount concerted efforts to demand that the health protections that Labour has fought for are enforced by governments and that charges are laid when there are serious injuries or death in the workplace due to employer negligence.

Below you will find three publications from the Canadian Labour Congress that will help in the planning for Day of Mourning activities: Day of Mourning Statement 2008; Resource Information for the 2008 Day of Mourning; and Notes for the National Day of Mourning.

Locals should ensure that on April 28th a minutes silence is observed at 11:00 A.M. in all work locations and that the Canadian flag is lowered to half mast at all federal buildings and establishments.

Members in all Locals should be encouraged to participate in the Day of Mourning observances organized by the Local or Local Labour Council. As well, Locals should ensure that the PSAC is well represented at their District Labour Council’s Day of Mourning events.

Let us collectively ensure that this year’s Day of Mourning observances sends a strong message to all governments of their obligation and responsibility to strongly enforce health and safety laws and regulations.

In Solidarity,

• Day of Mourning Statement 2008 (Canadian Labour Congress)
• Resource Information for 2008 Day of Mourning
• Notes for National Day of Mourning April 28th, 2008