Canadian Safety Reporter

January 2015

Focuses on occupational health and safety issues at a strategic level. Designed for employers, HR managers and OHS professionals, it features news, case studies on best practices and practical tips to ensure the safest possible working environment.

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2 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2014 CSR | January 2015 | News A voice for victims Unifor's Women's Advocate programs a resource for victims of harassment, violence BY LIZ BERNIER WITH SEXUAL harassment scandals at the CBC and Parlia- ment Hill, and the 25th anniver- sary of the Montreal Massacre, the last two months of 2014 pre- sented plenty of opportunity for reflection on harassment and violence against women. But for Julie White, that ter- rible anniversary — when a gun- man killed 14 women at École Polytechnique — is also a re- minder of why Unifor works to help make safer workplaces for women. "Dec. 6 (was) the 25th anni- versary of the Montreal Massa- cre and it was a day, I think, that all Canadians stood still. It was kind of that defining moment for us where we recognized and started that conversation again around violence against women," said White, London, Ont.-based director of Unifor's women's department. "As a union, we knew we had to do something. We were doing things outside of the workplace in terms of fighting for things like childcare and affordable housing — all those economic pieces that help women leave violent relationships — but as a union, we knew that we had power at the bargaining table." Unifor's Women's Advocate Program, launched in 1993, is a resource for women who are facing workplace harassment or domestic violence — either at home or at work. "She can turn to somebody in the workplace and seek out sup- port, community or workplace resources that she can use to es- cape violence," said White. The program is a joint ini- tiative between the union and the employer, which provides a management support person to work with the advocate. The program is a real point of pride for the union, wrote Jerry Dias, national president of Uni- for in Toronto. "I am incredibly proud of Uni- for's groundbreaking Women's Advocate Program. These spe- cially trained, easy-to-contact workplace representatives have been instrumental in creating healthier workplaces and safer communities. They work close- ly with management, ensuring strong co-operation to achieve this goal," said Dias in a Unifor report. "One of the best tools the union has to prevent violence against women and workplace harassment is the Women's Ad- vocate Program." Employer response Unifor now has more than 300 women's advocates across the country, and the program is growing. "We've got women's advo- cates who are fish harvesters in Newfoundland on boats and outports; we've got women's advocates who are working in long-term care facilities and hospitals across the country; we have women's advocates who are working with Air Canada… and in the manufacturing sec- tors where we first negotiated it," said White. Bell Aliant is one of the most recent workplaces to implement women's advocates, with four new advocates — one in each of the Atlantic provinces — to be trained. "Creating healthy, respect- ful and safe workplaces is a real priority for Bell Aliant," said Jen- nifer Palov, HR director at Bell Aliant in Halifax. "Unifor's Women's Advocate Program is a groundbreaking initiative that fits really well with our existing workplace policies and initiatives. We are pleased to support Unifor's Women's Advocate Program as part of our new collective agreement and we look forward to collaborat- ing to implement this important and progressive program in our workplace." Ford Canada is another work- place with women's advocates in place — the company first be- came involved with the Unifor program through a contractual agreement in 1993, and has been a strong partner ever since, said White. "Ford is dedicated to provid- ing fair and equitable treatment for all employees. Ford supports the Women's Advocate Program because a safer workplace is an employer's responsibility," said David Nangini, union relations manager at Ford Motor Com- pany of Canada in Oakville, Ont. "A women's advocate in the workplace can help by providing avenues through which women can seek assistance and resourc- es in the community." Extensive training After a new women's advocate has been selected, she under- goes an extensive training pro- cess, said White. "She goes through an inten- sive 40-hour — paid by the em- ployer — basic training. She net- works with a group of advocates throughout the country. There's lots of different pieces to the training because when women are facing violence, there's lots of other issues that are often as- sociated with that violence." Training is presented by ex- perts on many different issues, including a legal expert who teaches advocates about their legal responsibilities, and an ex- pert on suicide prevention. The training also involves taking the advocates to a local "(An advocate) goes through an intensive 40-hour basic training. ere's lots of diff erent pieces to the training because when women are facing violence, there's lots of other issues that are often associated with that violence." ADVOCATES < pg. 7 Credit: Christinne Muschi A woman hangs ribbons during a vigil to remember the victims of the Montreal Massacre. Dec. 6 marked the 25th anniversary in which 14 women were killed by a lone gunman at the Ecole Polytechnique.

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