Nurses’ union president grapples with cancer, allegations and upheaval
VANCOUVER — Days after she was acclaimed for a second, three-year term as president of the 47,000-member B.C. Nurses’ Union in May, Gayle Duteil was diagnosed with breast cancer. After completing intense treatment, she was set to go back to work this month.
Except she couldn’t in the wake of “serious allegations” that have triggered multiple legal actions and investigations.
Duteil is on a forced administrative leave, the BCNU recently informed its members. She has hired labour lawyer Carman Overholt and filed complaints against the BCNU with the B.C. Labour Relations Board and the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal.
The union has undergone plenty of conflict and upheaval in recent years..
Its election process came under fire this year with charges of irregularities by a slate of candidates who later took their still-unresolved case to the Labour Relations Board.
Last year, 150 of the office workers at BCNU — receptionists, mail clerks, labour relations officers, occupational health and safety officers — went on strike for five months before a collective agreement was reached. The strike meant management officers had to scramble to handle disciplinary issues, terminations and other matters.
The strikers cited bullying and harassment — tactics they said the BCNU would never tolerate by government and health employers. A bulletin for union members signed by Duteil at the time mentioned the need to rein in benefits and compensation, citing receptionist wages that were higher than what licensed practical nurses earned.
A few months ago, Gary Fane resigned as executive director in what was described as an “amicable” retirement after he was accused of making unacceptable remarks at odds with the union’s workplace policies. He had worked for the BCNU for 12 years.
Umar Sheikh, a former labour relations lawyer for the B.C. government, is now CEO and executive director of the union. Sheikh left government four years ago to take a job as general counsel for the union.
“Well, it has been an interesting time, that’s for sure, and I can’t disagree with your assessment,” Sheikh said, referring to a reporter’s comments about all the ongoing drama inside the union.
Both Duteil, who lives in Osoyoos, and Sheikh, said they can’t discuss specific allegations. But two arbitrators, Judy Korbin and Vince Ready, have been appointed to issue a report.
“I can’t say who the allegations are from because we have to protect the integrity of the investigation. I can’t even say if they are from people who work for the BCNU,” Sheikh said. “All I can say is there are more than 10, and they are from different parties with different interests.”
The allegations against Duteil started to pour in while she was on sick leave, but Sheikh said they don’t necessarily relate to that period.
On Facebook and other social-media sites, Duteil kept her colleagues updated regarding her medical treatment at the B.C. Cancer’s Agency’s Okanagan area facility, posting last week that she can now put behind her: a partial mastectomy, multiple chemotherapy treatments, 22 doctor visits, six trips to the emergency department and 25 days of radiation.
Duteil declined to comment, saying she’s preparing for her Labour Relations Board hearing and coping with the effects of radiation treatment.
Sheikh said Duteil and her lawyer have been given copies of the “nature of allegations and what is being investigated.”
“What I can say is that there are numerous serious allegations, and probably the great majority are outside of the timeline of any [medical] treatment.”
BCNU vice-president Christine Sorensen has been appointed acting president. The union will start bargaining for new contracts in the spring.