On-the-job complaints not always probed

When he complained about finding harassing graffiti on his locker while working in corrections, Jeremy O’Connor says he was asked to prove it.

Employees can’t bring cameras into correctional institutions. Nevertheless, O’Connor says a deputy director of operations told him that if he didn’t have pictures of the graffiti, he didn’t have proof, so it didn’t happen.

Over the 10 years he worked in the Saskatchewan corrections system, O’Connor says he was harassed for his religious choice — he believes in Wicca.

He also took a second job at a gay bar in Regina, but then “it got around” and he was harassed for that, he says — people would say things like he must be gay himself if he works there.

His case is one of many complaints laid by Government of Saskatchewan employees that don’t result in an investigation.

O’Connor started working at the Prince Albert jail in 2002. He transferred to the Regina jail the following year and resigned in 2012. The harassment began in 2003 and continued right up until he left, he says.

“I faced a lot harassment about the fact I had to take two stress leaves while I was there, because of it all.”

It made him hate his job, his coworkers and being at work, he says.

Most harassment claims reported by government staff are evaluated but do not result in a full investigation.

According to numbers provided by the Public Service Commission in response to an Access to Information request, between 2011 and 2016, provincial staff filed 124 complaints but only two were investigated: one made in 2014-15 by an employee of the highways ministry, and one made by a social services employee in 2013-14.

The Ministry of Justice, which includes corrections, received the most harassment complaints during that time — 46. Between 2013 and 2016, nine men and 16 women filed complaints. A breakdown by gender was not available for previous years. None of the complaints were investigated by the Public Service Commission.

Between 2011 and 2016, the Ministry of Social Services received 15 harassment complaints, the Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport received 16 and the Ministry of Highways received 18.

Justice ministry spokesman Drew Wilby said he could not comment on any specific complaint due to privacy concerns, but called the numbers concerning.

“One complaint is one too many for us, whether that is harassment or workplace bullying or anything of that nature. Anything that’s brought forward regarding any topic, we take seriously, but especially ones of this nature,” he said.

“So looking at those numbers and seeing that higher number over the last couple of years especially, we definitely want to see that come down. We want to build a culture in our ministry that allows people to do their jobs free from any sort of harassment or bullying and we’re committed to continuing to work to do that.”

Wilby said a big part of this is communicating expectations and the professional code of conduct to front line workers. All new employees in the ministry within the last year and a half have had to sign the code after they were hired, he said.

The ministry is looking at initiatives to encourage respect in the workplace, but it’s too early to say what those are, Wilby said.

“We treat all of these complaints on a one-on-one basis as they come in and we treat each one with a great deal of concern and we make sure they’re looked at and they’re investigated and they’re dealt with appropriately. And if they are found to be grounded in fact, obviously we’ll deal with that through disciplinary action or something of that nature,” he said.

Provincial employees have a couple of channels for reporting harassment.

The Public Service Commission handles complaints made by employees of most ministries, but not the Crowns or the education ministry. The PSC’s harassment policy also applies to contractors hired by the ministries.

A formal complaint goes to the PSC and its employee and labour relations branch for review. Bridget McLeod, executive director of the employee and labour relations branch, said the test is: if the allegations are true, do they fit the definition of harassment?

After a determination is made, the PSC sends a letter back to the ministry reporting whether a complaint meets the definition or not. If it does, typically an investigation is done by a third party hired by the PSC, McLeod said.

If the complaint involves a union member, either as a complainant or the subject of a complaint, the PSC and the union have agreed on a list of investigators to draw from, usually a lawyer or private consultant.

Unionized employees can also submit complaints through their union, to a supervisor or to their ministry’s human resources branch.

“The ministry would not always be aware before it comes to us,” McLeod said.

Saskatchewan Government and General Employees’ Union (SGEU) president Bob Bymoen says the union hears the most complaints from corrections staff.

“It’s a violent environment, it’s overcrowded beyond any acceptable standards, and that creates a level of tension inside those centres,” he said, adding the employees’ stress levels are high.

“We believe in a lot of cases that where it’s happening, it’s due to workplace stress and unmanageable workloads.”

Bymoen said the SGEU supports the concept of the harassment-free workplace, and if harassment complaints are dealt with in a proactive way, there will be fewer frivolous complaints.

Harassment investigations take up to a year or longer, which wears on employees who are named in the complaint as well as the person who filed the complaint and continues to work in the same environment without a solution, he said.

“Some of the time frames that are in place to resolve these things and to hold investigations are beyond reasonable. As a union, we understand that there’s some due diligence that has to happen here; we can’t take stuff on face value. But, like, a year? Longer than a year? Come on, that’s just unacceptable.”

Harassment can take a significant toll on the personal and professional life of the victim.

Sonia Udod, an assistant professor at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Nursing, works with people who have been harassed in the workplace. In addition to the stress and anxiety of being harassed, it can also lead to depression or other physical responses, such as headaches, she said.

Professionally, it could lead to the person being unable to concentrate at work or losing their desire to stay in their job. Over a period of time, it would affect their confidence and ability to do their work, Udod added.

“There could be more errors, more accidents, certainly lower productivity because their mind isn’t where it needs to be because you’re thinking about that particular incident.”

There is a cost to the employer as well, because harassment can lead to people taking sick time or to the loss of skilled staff.

O’Connor recalls a sit-down meeting he attended in the fall of 2011 with representatives from the Regina jail and his union, the SGEU. He asked for a transfer. It was denied, and he was advised to take a leave of absence.

That meeting led him to decide enough was enough, he says. He resigned the following year.

“It got to the point that I literally sat there and asked myself, do I want to go to work today, do I not?” he said.

After he made the decision to quit, he told the shop steward and the union offered to file grievances, but for him, that offer came months too late, he said.

He has tried to apply to for government jobs a few times since then, but has been unsuccessful, O’Connor added.

“My government career, as far as I’m concerned, is over. There’s no way in hell the Saskatchewan government will let me back in to work at all. So I’ve done my best to try to make a career out of what I’m doing right now. But that doesn’t mean the stuff I’ve been through can’t help somebody else.”

We believe in a lot of cases that where it’s happening, it’s due to workplace stress and unmanageable workloads.