Category Archives: Canada

Calling all Unions – a golden opportunity to stop workplace bullying

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Smart advocates seek multiple solutions to a problem.  Advocates for U.S. workplace bullying legislation often point out that the U.S. is far behind other countries in addressing abusive work environments. But, these countries have a variety of approaches and don’t adhere to endorsing only one approach with one template.  Canada’s Bill 168  broadens OHSA (our OSHA) legislation to include bullying.  Here in the U.S, Maryland is currently debating Workplace Violence – a golden opportunity to include bullying.  Why isn’t SEIU, cited in the article below, stepping up to include bullying (worker on worker violence) in Maryland’s proposed legislation?  SEIU has been both the best and worst advocate against bullying. While they should be applauded for being the first to include bullying in contracts with employers, it’s important to understand the problems they face as leading the charge. SEIU successfully defended and reinstated employee who had been removed for alleged abuse to co-workers.  Will union leaders develop a broader more inventive approach to fighting employers who bully their employees? Here’s an article on the push for Maryland’s workplace violence legislation: Continue reading →

Canada, Workplace Bullies, and The Law

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Wal Mart Canada CorpHere’s an article from the Canadian Workplace Legal Post which is a reminder to everyone involved in the U.S. workplace bullying movement that a variety of solutions can, and should, be embraced and supported. Ask yourself, why wouldn’t anyone who understands the devastating impact of workplace bullying support that approach? Canada has been  strengthening their Workers Comp and OSHA regulations to be effective tools that can protect their workers:

Big Jury Award Arising from Workplace Bullying

Appropriate conduct in the workplace is ever changing. The most recent shift concerns bullying in the workplace, and it is becoming increasingly clear that the stern, often aggressive management styles of yesteryear may no longer be appropriate in the Canadian workplace. In light of this change in attitudes, employers must take note or suffer what may be very serious consequences, which are perhaps no better evidenced than the recent jury ruling by the Ontario High Court of Justice, which awarded 1.46 million dollars to an employee who claimed her manager bullied her. Continue reading →

Canadian Expert Says Companies Who Condone Workplace Bullying Are Short-Sighted

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Guest blog article by Angela Monaghan [Ontario, Canada] – Advocate, Educator, & Counsellor addressing bullying issues. Founder of On T.R.A.C. for BULLYING PREVENTION, a not-for-profit organization promoting education, awareness, healing, and an empowered society that won’t let bullying thrive. Angela co-founded the International Educational Coalition on Workplace Bullying.

Short-sighted Business Trend

There’s been a disturbing two-fold trend in workplace bullying.   In short, employers are mistreating particular employees as a way to encourage these employees to quit and serving as an example to others to `tow the line, do more with and for less, shut up and put up or this will happen to you`.  The targeted employee becomes the example to others who desire to keep their jobs in an unsettled economic climate.  Since bullying is all about control it`s a way management gains the upper hand.  Unfortunately, this `upper hand` is NOT the healthy control resulting from a hierarchy.  Rather, this is the unhealthy control based on fear and it promotes the bullying culture in an environment. Continue reading →

Isn’t it time to re-link Workplace Violence and Workplace Bullying?

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…The shootings came during an apparent counseling session between ICE supervisor Kevin Kozak and a lower-ranking supervisor, Agent Esequiel “Zeke” Garcia, where a third agent was in the room as a witness. During the hearing, Mr. Garcia allegedly drew his service weapon and shot Mr. Kozak six times. The third agent drew his weapon and killed Garcia… [February 18, 2012, CS Monitor]

During the 1990′s workplace shootings were prominently splashed across headlines in the mainstream news.   In response the FBI joined together with prominent researchers and leaders in this area and adopted the four (4) types of workplace violence (WPV).  One of those, type 3, was labeled worker-on-worker and research at the time already recognized the link between performance evaluations and tragic deadly shootings. At that same time a movement was underway by advocates to carve much of Type 3, which was often referred to at the time as “workplace aggression“ into it’s own niche area by advocates of “workplace bullying (WPB).”

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Bill 168: Workplace threats lead to dismissal for just cause

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Ontario’s new workplace violence legislation applied to city employee’s threats against co-worker

by Norm Keith (reprinted with permission)

The first important decision arising from the Bill 168 amendments to Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) has determined verbal threats of workplace violence constitute violence under the new law, which came into force on June 15, 2010. Continue reading →